Whispers in the Dark
by Amy Cahill09
Summary: Running away from home, Lucy didn't expect to run head first into trouble. Along the way she meets a new group of people. However, when her mother comes to her in dreams and thrusts a mission upon her which holds the fate of the world, Lucy isn't sure what to do. When you think about it, gathering all the dragon slayers doesn't seem too hard until you find out how many there are.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Lucy Heartfilia, what is the meaning of this," she heard her father scream at the top of her lungs. The blonde haired girl looked down at her feet. What could she say? No matter what her father would only get even angrier. Everything used to be perfect, the perfect family with the perfect life. Lucy thought it would always be that way, but one day her mother died. No one knows how or why, she just did. Her mother, Layla Heartfilia, hadn't been sick or injured. She just died for no reason.

"Lucy go to your room," her father yelled as he turned his back to her and looked out the giant glass window. It overlooked the front entrance to the house. The Heartfilia estate was quite big, it could possibly be even bigger than a city.

"Yes Father," Lucy said and left the room. She went into her own room and ripped off her long, frilly, and suffocating dress. She quickly changed into a blue jean skirt and white v-neck t-shirt with a brown belt. Her whip was attached to her belt as well as her Celestial Spirit keys. She then packed a small bag full of food, four bottles of water, a first aid kit, and one other pair of clothes. Lucy also took money to get her started on a new life.

A new life, it sounded nice. She wondered where she would live and who she would meet. Lucy then remembered her mother, whose grave was one the land of the Heartfilia estate. Lucy would never be able to visit her mother's grave again. Lucy didn't want that, but she knew that her loving mother would want her to leave this hell hole of a home.

Lucy ran out the house and into the woods. She knew her father would never search for her there. She continued to run, and several days later she was lost deep within the woods. Lucy was running out of food and water fast. She had about three days left of food and water left if she used the supplies carefully. After that it would just be her with a first aid kit, a change of clothes, some money (which would do her no good in a forest), her whip, and her Celestial Spirits.

Lucy took her keys in her hands and looked at them. Aquarius, Horologium, Taurus, Cancer, Cruz, and Lyra were the Celestrial Spirits she currently had. Would she be able to make it out of the forest alive? Lucy didn't even know where she was or if she was running around in circles.

Six days later, Lucy was out of food and water. She could swear she was going crazy. Why? That's because Lucy thought she heard someone. Maybe even a group of people. Lucy walked towards the sound only for it to get louder. Soon enough, she was able to hear voices.

"Natsu, be careful! This beast seems to be immune to fire," a girl yelled.

"I can see that Erza," Lucy heard a male voice reply. A growl could be heard. Lucy suddenly walked onto the field, unaware that it was a battleground. Lucy's eyes widened as she saw the massive beast along with two boys, one girl, and a flying blue cat.

The beast seems to be a hybrid of a bird and a leopard. It had the wings of a humming bird on its back, only they were about 1,000 times bigger than normal and had the same spotted pattern a leopard fur. The leopard itself was 100 times bigger than a normal leopard. Lucy than realized that the beast was charging towards her at an incredible speed. The group of three looked towards her in shock.

"Who is that? What is a civilian doing here," the girl yelled in worry. I grabbed my keys and held onto them for dear life. I realized that I had one chance to make it out of here alive and escape the group. I quickly took Taurus's Celestial key and held it in the air.

"I call upon the golden bull, Taurus! Open the gate," she yelled. Lucy could feel magic flowing through her as Taurus came through. He grabbed his ax and slammed it on the hybrid. Unfortunately, Taurus and the hybrid were on par with each other. Lucy then saw Taurus's foot slip a little.

"Taurus," Lucy yelled as she grabbed her whip and ran towards the hybrid. She couldn't tell what the group of three was doing; maybe they were still staring in shock.

"Stop you foolish girl! You're only making things worse," she heard one of the boys yell. Those words rang through Lucy as an unpleasant memory came forth.

"_Stop it you foolish girl! You're only making things worse," Lucy's father yelled at a 10 year old Lucy. She had been trying to help her father pick up the paperwork that had spilt all over the floor._

"_Don't you realize this is your fault," he questioned her, still yelling. Lucy looked at her feet and held back tears._

"_Sorry Father," she whispered._

"I can do it," she yelled at whoever had said those words. She then jumped in the air and lashed her whip along the back of the hybrid. She then landed on its back and started attacking the wings.

"Taurus, keep it at bay," she yelled. Taurus grunted in response, too busy to reply with a perverted comment. Lucy had finished making one wing bleed. Before she could get to the other, Taurus's time was up and he disappeared.

The hybrid then ran around and flung Lucy off of it. Lucy slammed into a tree headfirst. She could feel a splitting head ache coming on. Lucy could barely keep her eyes open. Everything was blurry. All she could see was two blurs fighting off what was obviously the hybrid. Just before Lucy could close her eyes, she saw a figure with pink hair approaching her. Lucy then blacked out and headed into a dream.

Little did she know that this "dream" would soon become a reality.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A New Crowd

_ Everywhere she looked there was nothing but darkness. Lucy held out her hand, trying to grab hold of something. She reached out as far as she possibly could, but the darkness slipped through her fingers like thick syrup. The only difference was that the darkness wasn't sticky; in fact it felt like she was floating in water. Lucy looked around and took a breath, was she dead? No, maybe she was sleeping or in a coma, but definitely not dead._

_ "Hello," she called out. There was no reply. Then in the darkness, a flash of white was seen. It was very bright to where Lucy had to close her eyes unless she wanted to be blind. When the light was gone, Lucy opened her eyes to see stars. Throughout the stars, Lucy could see all of the constellations. They were all there and made her feel safe._

_ A meteor then flew by her; she turned around to see its destination – Fiore. Lucy's eyes widened as several more flew past her, all heading for Fiore. It was then that Lucy knew this was no normal meteor shower. Lucy shot her hand out, as if she was trying to grab hold of all of the meteors and pull them back._

_ "No," she cried out. Lucy could barely hold back tears. Everything would be gone, destroyed and turned to ash. Nothing and no one would live through this event if those meteors landed on Fiore. Lucy didn't know how she knew this, she just knew. Another flash of light resonated throughout the darkness. When Lucy opened her eyes, her dead mother stood before her._

_ "Do not forget the date of my death, Lucy. July 7__th__, 777. That date is the key to everything. It's the key to finding the dragons, who can stop this disaster. It's the key to gathering all the dragon slayers together. But the most important thing is that it's the key to you unlocking your true potential. Find a group of people that you can trust, Lucy. I believe in you. I know you can do it," Layla said as she put her hand on Lucy's right cheek._

_ "Mom, I don't want you to leave me again," Lucy whispered as she held onto her mother's left hand. A tear slid down her cheek, but Layla wiped it away with her thumb._

_ "I'll see you again when the time is right Lucy. Just trust me and carry out this deed. I'm just so sorry that it had to be you," Layla whispered. Lucy's mother then disappeared into this air._

_ "Mother," Lucy screamed just as the first meteor crashed into Fiore. Lucy cried her eyes out as one by one the meteors crashed into Fiore, destroying the place bit by bit._

"No! Stop," screamed Lucy. She shot up from laying on her back and reached out for the first thing she could grab. Lucy just seemed to be grabbing at air as her eyes snapped open. After what seemed like ages, but was only two minutes, Lucy took in her surroundings.

She was surrounded by trees and wrapped in what seemed to be a blanket. The thing was, whose blanket was it? Lucy quickly checked for her bag and Celestial key, both were still with her. She then heard someone or something walk towards her. Lucy stood up and pointed her Celestial keys towards the person.

It was a beautiful woman with long red hair. She had a sword at her side and metal armor on. The woman held her hands up, as if signaling that she meant no harm. The two boys behind her then stood up. One boy had black hair and was clothed in only his boxers. Lucy had to hold back laughter. The other boy had spiky pink hair. He wore a white scaled scarf, white shorts that ended at his knees, and a black vest. A blue cat was standing next to the pink haired boy.

"Who are you," Lucy said as she held on tightly to her keys. She couldn't be positive, but Lucy was pretty sure her hair was messed up. The red haired woman was the first to respond.

"My name is Erza Scarlet. The pink haired boy is Natsu Dragneel and the black haired fellow is Gray Fullbuster. Oh! The blue cat is Happy. We mean you no harm. But the real question her is who are _**you**_," Erza said. Lucy's eyes widened as she hooked her keys back on her belt.

"My name is Lucy. If you don't mind, I rather not say my last name," Lucy replied. She glanced towards Natsu, remembering the blur of pink she had seen before fainting. Had that pink been his hair?

"Well Lucy, can you tell me what you are doing in the woods and who taught you how to use magic. Oh, and also what guild are you in," Erza asked. That question hurt Lucy a bit, but she didn't let it show on her face.

"I'm in the woods because I'm looking to find a town. I got lost on my journey. I learned a little bit of magic from my mother, but only the basics. After that I taught myself, and I do not belong to a guild," Lucy lied. Erza smiled and held out her hand.

"Well then Lucy, why don't you join us? You did help us out greatly with that hybrid, plus we can help you find a town," Erza said. Lucy smiled and shook Erza's hand.

"I'd like that. I'd really like that. Plus, it's more fun to travel as a group. At least, that's what I've heard," Lucy said with a small smile on her face. It was a fake smile, but Erza and Gray seemed to buy it. Now if only she could understand why Natsu and Happy seemed be able to see that it was fake. Erza smiled in response.

"It's nice to meet you. And I mean no offense, but can we start moving before it rains," Gray said as he pointed at the sky. Lucy looked up to seem the clouds gray and turning darker but the minute. Lucy nodded and smiled as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"That's not a problem with me. If everyone's ready then why don't we go look for a good shelter that we can use for the night," Lucy suggested.

"That's not a bad idea, let's go," Erza agreed as she grabbed her stuff and started walking. Lucy followed Erza. Gray, Happy, and Natsu followed behind them. Lucy couldn't help but notice that whenever Erza was looking away, Natsu and Gray would fight.

_'Oh well,'_ Lucy thought, _'I guess I'll just have to get used to this new crowd of people. Who knows, maybe I'll grow to like them.'_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Flood Waters

Lucy, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Happy were walking through the woods. It was close to midnight and it was already raining. Lucy sighed as she looked up, trying to see if any of the stars were viewable. Luckily for her, there were a few stars visible, but not enough to make out a constellation. Lucy then directed her attention back to the path ahead of her. Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Gray seemed used to walking through the woods.

"So, does anyone know when we'll be at a shealter," Lucy asked. She hoped that it didn't sound like she was complaining. Gray looked over his shoulder and at Lucy. He smile, his black hair flattened down and seemed to be stuck to his skin.

"We have no idea," Gray said. Lucy's eyes widened in shock, they had no idea where the nearest stop would be? Were they crazy? Were these people planning to die and kill her along with them! Natsu looked at Lucy and saw the look on her face, he smiled and laughed.

"Isn't it more fun traveling and having no idea where you're going," Natsu said happily.

"Aye," Happy cheered.

"No, it's not! What if we die out here," Lucy questioned. Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Happy looked at each other. They then broke out into a fit of laughter.

"There's no way that could happen! We're Fairy Tail's strongest team," Natsu commented," Of course, me being a dragon slayer makes me cooler than everyone else." The words dragon slayer rang through Lucy's head.

_'Natsu's a dragon slayer, one of the people I'm supposed to bring together. So, maybe I'm supposed to trust these people. Only one way to find out,'_ Lucy thought. She smiled at the group innocently.

"What's Fairy Tail? I've never heard of it before," Lucy said. It was the truth, Lucy didn't know much about outside the Heartfilia estate unless it was something her father wanted her to know. The three people (plus one flying and talking blue cat) looked at Lucy in shock.

"You don't know what Fairy Tail is," Erza said, the shock obvious because of her voice tone. Lucy shook her head no. Erza took a deep and explained what Fairy Tail was. When Erza's explanation was done, Lucy smiled.

"Fairy Tail seems really cool. I'd love to go there," Lucy said.

"Then we'll take you with us back to Fairy Tail. Your magic is really useful," Natsu said, "It'd be great to have you join us." Lucy's face seemed to glow at the opportunity.

"Really," she asked, unsure if Natsu was just getting her hopes up. For all she knew he could be the type of person who brought a person's hopes up, then shot them down.

"Yes really. I'm not one to lie about something like that. Don't judge me Luigi," Natsu said.

"It's Lucy," Lucy snapped. Erza and Gray laughed at Natsu's obliviousness. Natsu said sorry, with Happy once again saying aye. Lucy wondered if that was Happy's favorite word, but she didn't feel like asking.

Lucy felt as if it was getting hard to walk, almost like trudging through water. So she looked down at her feet and gasped, when had they gotten ankle deep in water? She didn't think she wanted to know. Lucy then realized that the water level was raising, she wouldn't be surprised if there was a flash flood.

"Guys, the water level is rising. It's not possible that we'll get stuck in a flood, is it," Lucy asked. Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Happy looked down at their feet and saw the water rising quickly. Thunder boomed and lighting flashed, the stars were no longer visible as they were covered up with dark gray – maybe even black – clouds.

"Everyone be careful! We might have a flash flood on our h-," before Erza could finish, water started rushing into the field they were in.

The water was now up to Lucy's waist and still rising. Happy was holding onto Natsu's shoulder for dear life, his wings gone. Erza could barely move, her armor making it hard to take a step in the water. Gray was holding his ground, making sure his footing didn't slip.

Lucy's right foot then slipped, and she could feel the current take her away. She let out a scream of shock, positive she wouldn't live. Lucy threw out a hand, even though it was highly unlikely that anyone would grab hold of her hand. Why would they? It's not like they knew her very well.

"Sorry Erza, looks like we'll meet up later at Fairy Tail," Natsu said as he handed Happy to said girl.

"What are you talking about," Erza asked. Natsu then jumped towards Lucy and grabbed her hand. He then held her close, making sure that they didn't get separated. He might not know her that well, but Natsu felt like he had to protect her.

'_It's because we're nakama,'_ he thought. But something deep inside of Natsu told him that wasn't why. Lucy opened her eyes and looked at him in shock. They were actually worried about her? Lucy could feel her eyes fill with tears. The only people who had cared for her was her mother, her Celestial Spirits (who she considered friends, not weapons and shields), and all the people who worked at the Heartfilia estate.

"Thank you Natsu," Lucy said to said boy. Natsu smiled his big goofy smile.

"No problem Lucy! We're nakama now," he said. Lucy smiled at Natsu.

"Yeah, we're nakama," she said. The two then drifted with the current, hoping that Erza, Gray, and Happy were ok. The waves from the flash flood were huge and seemed to sweep the pair over the tree tops. Lucy wondered how much water it must take to carry them over the tall trees.

"So Lucy, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself," Natsu said. Lucy sighed; this was exactly the type of question she was trying to avoid.

_'Ok Lucy, time to start telling some pretty good lies,' _she thought.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Moving Forward

"Well, there's not really much about me to say," Lucy fibbed. She glanced towards Natsu to see his disapproving face; he must have noticed her lie. After a few seconds, Natsu smiled. Lucy gulped; she didn't like the look of that smile at all.

"Where did you live Lucy," Natsu asked. Lucy bit her lip, she had to think of a town and fast. She tried to remember the few places she had visited. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. Lucy looked away feeling guilty; she couldn't face Natsu after saying such an obvious lie.

"Can we talk about something else? Please," she said. Lucy looked at Natsu to see his facial expression lighten up a bit. Just as Natsu was about to say something, the water level started to go down. They both looked forward to see that they were heading right towards a tree. Lucy gasped in shock, unlike Natsu who moved them out of the way. The water then seemed to go away and the two were able to put their feet on the ground.

"Everywhere I look there is nothing but mud," Lucy said in disgust. Natsu looked at her strangely before laughing.

"Of course there is, water and ground makes mud. Plus, there was just a flood of water, what do you expect? Don't worry, a little mud never killed anyone," Natsu teased. He then picked up some mud and threw it at Lucy. Lucy squealed as the mud hit her leg and slip down to her foot.

"Natsu," Lucy yelled as she picked up some mud and threw it at him. The mud hit Natsu's shoulder and he laughed before giving another one of his goofy smiles.

"See, you're still alive so obviously mud has never harmed anyone. Now stop worrying about it and let's move," he said. Natsu then grabbed Lucy's right hand and pulled her along as he started walking. Lucy smiled as she followed; Natsu wasn't so bad once you got past his one track mind.

"Do you recognize where we are," she asked. Lucy looked up to the sky while waiting for an answer. She could see the stars now that all of the clouds had left the night sky. She searched for the Northern Star in her mind, it was always easy to find.

"Yeah, I recognize these parts of the woods. We're close to Fairy Tail, it should take close to a day of walking," Natsu replied. Lucy nodded; she was worried about Erza, Gray, and Happy. Where they safe?

"Do you think we'll run into Gray, Erza, and Happy on our way there," Lucy asked. Natsu shrugged as he looked at her.

"For all I know they could already be there. Now let's hurry to Fairy Tail, maybe we can beat them there," Natsu said. Lucy laughed as she wondered if he turned everything into a game. Truth be told, she wouldn't doubt it. Natsu started running faster. Lucy stumbled over her own feet and nearly fell flat on her face.

"Wait up! You're going to make me kill myself," Lucy giggled as she ran. She tried to keep up with Natsu's speed, but that was impossible. They continued to run through the forest as they made their way towards Fairy Tail. It was then that Lucy realized how much fun she was having. It shocked her - Lucy had never had such fun in her life, not even as a child.

"Thank you, Natsu," Lucy whispered under her breath.

"You say something Lucy," Natsu asked. Lucy smiled and shook her head.

"Nope, nothing at all, now let's keep running," Lucy said. She then picked up the pace as she realized that Natsu was pulling her along again.

_"Bring the dragon slayers together Lucy. You're the only one who can, but it'll require a lot of pain and sacrifice. I'm so sorry that it had to be you Lucy," _Lucy heard her mother's voice in her head. Lucy help back a gasp. Pain? Sacrifice? What would she lose? Her new found friends? Lucy didn't want to know.

"You ok Lucy? You look like you're worried about something. You're not still worrying about Happy and everyone, are you? They'll be fine," Natsu said happily. Lucy shook her head as if trying to get rid of the thought.

"You're right. Sorry that I worried you," Lucy said. Natsu smiled at Lucy as if to say no problem. Natsu then looked away and sighed. What was she holding back? It was obvious to him that she was lying. Hadn't she noticed that yet? Natsu guessed the answer to that question was no.

If anyone should worry about Erza, Happy, and Gray, shouldn't it be him? He had known them longer while Lucy only knew their names. Natsu shook the thought away; it just showed that she was a caring person. At least, that's what he hoped.

The two were soon walking up a steep hill. The moon was high above them and illuminating the wet grass. It was a beautiful sight, a once in a million shot. They were soon at the top of the hill. The hill overlooked a town.

The town seemed to sparkle as Lucy looked and saw all of the lights glowing. She could see some sakura trees, which she had only seen in books as a child. There was also what looked like a river, or maybe it was a canal. The street lights showered the citizens in a beautiful orange glow. The streets still had a fair amount of people walking. Lucy looked over the town, it was beautiful. She wanted to live there and start over with a new life.

"What is this place," Lucy asked as she stared at the town in complete awe. Natsu glanced at Lucy's face and smiled.

"Welcome to Magnolia Town, home of the Fairy Tail guild. This is also where Erza, Happy, Gray, and I live. Now let's head to the guild," he said.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Hello, No Thank You

"The guild," Lucy questioned. Natsu looked at her like she was crazy. Had she forgotten what Erza said so quickly? He laughed and shook his head, she was so weird.

"Did you forget what Erza said already? She said that we were going to introduce you to everyone in Fairy Tail," Natsu said. He then started walking down the hill. Lucy gasped and ran after him.

"Hey, wait up! Don't leave me behind you idiot," Lucy yelled. She then grabbed onto his shoulder. Natsu then stumbled, and they both tumbled down the hill. Lucy yelled out in shock while Natsu laughed the whole way down.

"Don't laugh, we're going to die here because of you," Lucy yelled, but she couldn't hold back some giggles. Natsu just continued to laugh. They both stopped tumbling at the bottom of the hill. Natsu stood up and held a hand out to Lucy, which she gladly accepted. She then stood up and let go of his hand.

"Thanks a bunch, Natsu. Now why don't you lead the way to Fairy Tail," Lucy said. They then started walking down the cobblestone streets lit up with orange glowing ice from the fire lit streetlamps. Natsu and Lucy started to talk about some small things. Soon they arrived in front of a big and tall wooden building.

"Wh-what is this place," Lucy yelled as she looked at gigantic wooden doors.

"This is Fairy Tail, let's go inside," Natsu said proudly. He then lead Lucy inside, slamming the doors open. All eyes were on the two who had walked inside, including Erza, Happy, and Gray.

"Hey Erza, Happy, Stripper, when did you guys get back," Natsu asked. Gray stood up and threw a chair towards Natsu.

"Who are you calling a stripper, Flame Brian," Gray yelled. Natsu then ran up to him and went to punch Gray square in the face when Erza glared at the two.

"What do you two think you're doing," Erza hissed. Gray and Natsu instantly put each other's arms over each other's shoulders. They both started laughing and smiling.

"No, not at all Erza," Gray said.

"A-Aye," Natsu said.

'_Natsu's turned into Happy,'_ Lucy thought in shock. Happy then flew next to Lucy and smiled.

"Hey everyone, this is Lucy! Lucy, this is everyone is the guild," Happy said. The people in the guild then surrounded her and started asking her questions. Lucy's widened in shock as she answered a few questions that she didn't think would give away her identity.

"Everyone, be quiet," a very small man who was standing on top of the bar table yelled. Every instantly shut up and faced him. Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza stood next to Lucy and the small man stepped forward.

"Who is this young woman," the man asked.

"Hello Master, this is Lucy. I brought her with us. I was hoping that you would allow her to join the guild," Erza said. Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she shook her head, she hadn't been expecting this.

"I-I'm sorry, but I wasn't planning to join a guild. I promised my mom a long time ago that I would no longer use magic. I'm sorry," Lucy said. Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Happy looked at Lucy in shock.

"But you used such awesome magic against that hybrid! Why won't you join," Happy asked. Lucy sighed and looked at Happy.

"My mother begged me not to use magic until the time was right. Using magic back then was betraying her trust and I regret it completely. I need to wait until I know it's the right t-," Lucy stopped as she clutched her head in pain.

"Lucy! Lucy, are you ok," Erza asked as she put a hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"_Lucy, it's time. It's ok for you to start using your magic again. Use it to protect Fairy Tail and your new found friends," _Layla said in Lucy's mind. Lucy's eyes snapped open and she whimpered in pain.

"It hurts… my head hurts. Mother… she wants me to stay and help. I have to stay and help," Lucy said as she let her hand drop down to her side.

"You ok Lucy," Gray asked. Lucy nodded her head yes as she sighed in relief.

"It's ok now. Looks like I got my approval to help. I would love to join Fairy Tail, if you would allow me that is," Lucy said.

"Of course Luigi, you're already nakama to us," Natsu said. Lucy snapped and glared at Natsu.

"My name is Lucy! Get it right! It's Lucy! L-U-C-Y! Lucy! Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy," Lucy yelled as she threw her hands around in anger. Everyone laughed at Lucy's little fit. At first, Lucy thought they were laughing at her. But then, she realized they were laughing with her.

"Hello Lucy, I'm Mirajane, but you can just call me Mira. Come with me, we need to put the Fairy Tail stamp on you," a white long haired girl said. Lucy smiled and nodded as she followed her. Mirajane then took out a stamp and smiled back at Lucy.

"Where do you want your stamp and what color, Lucy," Mira asked. Lucy thought for a second.

"I want it in pink on my right hand please," Lucy said as she held her right hand out. Mira smiled as she stamped Lucy's right hand. After that, several people introduced themselves to her. Elfman, Levy, Cana, Loke (who ran away like a sissy after realizing she was a Celestial Wizard), Makarov (who was the guild master), Jet, and Droy; they were all so kind and friendly.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Lucy," everyone yelled together. Lucy's eyes widened before she gave a smile.

"It's great to be a part of Fairy Tail," Lucy yelled back. She then smiled a real smile, a smile that came to the bottom of her heart. Lucy felt like she belonged for the first time in a while.

_"Thank you everyone. Thank you so very much," _Lucy thought. A single tear fell down her cheek, a tear of happiness.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N Before this story continues, I just want to stay I will not be posting on Sundays and Mondays. If there is a special event (like Thanksgiving or Christmas) then I won't be posting. Also, if i have a family emergency i won't be posting.**

Chapter 5: Finding a New Home

Lucy sighed as she sat down at the bar and ordered a glass of water. She still needed to find a house before she could do anything. Lucy didn't know anyone that well, so she didn't want to ask anyone for help. Even so, Lucy had no idea how to get around town unless she wanted to get lost. Lucy sighed as she slammed her head down on the counter.

"What's wrong Lucy? You seem troubled," Mira said as she placed Lucy's water in front of her. Lucy muttered a soft thank you before taking a sip.

"I need to find a house to live in, but I have no sense of direction in this town. Help me Mira," Lucy said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Oh! I heard that there was a house open on Strawberry Street that's for sale. That street is really close to the shopping center, you should go check it out Lucy," Mira said with a smile. Lucy then wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled.

"Thank you so much Mira, but I still need someone to go with me," Lucy said with a sigh.

"Why don't you ask Natsu to go with you," Mira suggested. Lucy nodded and smiled even bigger.

"You always have great ideas Mira! Thanks," Lucy said as she stood up and headed towards Natsu.

"Hey Natsu, can yo-," Lucy was cut off as Natsu and Gray got into yet another fight. Erza had left earlier to go check on something, not that Lucy knew what that something was. Lucy sighed as she sat down at the table Natsu normally sat at; this was the third fight in this hour that the two boys were having.

"Flame brain!"

"Stripper!"

"What was that pinky!"

"You heard me icey!"

"You did not just call me icey, ash for brains!"

"Oh, so you're death now, ice cubes for brains!"

The fighting then went serious as Natsu and Gray went to use their magic. Cana sighed and muttered something about them ruining the beer with their fighting. Elfman yelled something around "Real men fight with their fists!" but Lucy wasn't sure.

"Stop the fighting this instant," Erza yelled as she stomped into the guild. She then whacked Natsu and Gray over the head before dragging them to the table that Lucy was sitting at.

"Hello Lucy, how are you," Erza asked. Lucy looked at Erza with pleading eyes.

"Erza, please come with me to find a house. Please," Lucy said. Erza looked at her before pointing at Natsu.

"I'm busy but I'm positive Natsu wouldn't mind bringing you, right Natsu," Erza asked. Natsu smiled and nodded.

"Sure, let's go Lucy! Where do you wanna start looking," Natsu asked Lucy as he stood up.

"Mira told me there was a house open on Strawberry Street near the shopping circle. Why don't we start there," Lucy said as she stood up. Natsu smiled and headed towards the door as Lucy followed behind.

"C'mon then, let's go," Natsu said as he grabbed Lucy's hand and started running. Lucy started running as well with a smile on her face.

"Thanks a bunch Natsu," Lucy said, flashing him a dazzling smile. Natsu smiled back a goofy smile.

"It's no problem, we're nakama," he said. They then made their way to Strawberry Street. When Lucy and Natsu arrived, they figured out it was a two story apartment complex, not a house. Even so, Lucy decided she might as well check out the open apartment. First, she examined the outside of the place.

The apartment complex had red walls and s dark brown sloping roof with two chimneys and two dormer windows. The place overlooked a stone bridge as a well as a water canal that is often used by boats. Lucy thought that it was quite a beautiful sight for the building to overlook.

The two then went inside to look through the inside of the apartment. The walls were covered by pink wallpaper. There was also a bunch of storage space. The main room was quite big and already had furniture in place, this included a desk, bookcase, commode, a table with three chairs, and an armchair. The bedroom had a bed, dresser, side table, coffee table, and a window which had a beautiful view. The kitchen had a cooking stove that turns into a fireplace and a bunch of places to hold utensils as well as a built in cutting table. The bathroom was blue with trade card tiles and a stone bathtub. All in all, Lucy loved the place.

"This is the place Natsu, this is where I'm going to live. It's also pretty cheap at 70,000 jewels a month! I'm buying the place," Lucy said as she pulled her wallet out of her bag. She then walked to the owner's office in the building and gave him 70,000 jewels. The owner, an old man named James Rivera, handed Lucy the keys to the apartment and wished her a good evening, which Lucy politely returned. She then returned to her apartment, where she found Natsu waiting.

"Hey Lucy, now that you've found a place to live why don't we go on a mission," Natsu offered. Lucy looked at him questioningly.

"Together, are you sure," she asked. Natsu smiled and nodded.

"Of course, Erza, Happy, Gray, and I already consider you a part of Team Natsu! So let's all do our first mission together," Natsu said as he stood up and jumped out the window.

"H-Hey! Wait up! There's a door for a reason," Lucy yelled as she ran out the apartment and locked the door behind her. She then ran after Natsu, who was already half way down the street.

"Hurry up slow poke or else you'll be eating my dust," Natsu yelled as he speed up. Lucy pulled her shoes off and held them in her hand as she chased after him.

"This isn't fair Natsu! You had a head start," Lucy yelled.

"Too bad," Natsu laughed as continued to run. It was quite a cute scene to the few people on the streets who were seeing their 'lover's quarrel' as the citizen's put it.


	7. Chapter 6

**Just to remind everyone, there will not be a new chapter up tomorrow. (Unless I somehow find some free time, which is highly unlikely) Now, please enjoy! Don't forget to review please!**

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><p>Chapter 6: A Rescue Mission!<p>

Lucy slammed the doors of the guild open to see Natsu sitting down at a table with Erza, Gray, and Happy. She walked over and sighed as she sat down. She tried to see what they were looking at, but couldn't read the paper.

"Thanks so much for waiting for me Natsu," Lucy said sarcastically. Natsu gave her a goofy smile before laughing, he then handed her the paper he held in his hand.

"This is the mission we're going on," he said. Lucy looked down at the paper and started to read. The paper read:

**The Village Girls have been Kidnapped!**

To whomever this may concern, all of the females from 15 to 18 have been kidnapped. They were taken by Sir O'Brian Evergreen and brought to the Evergreen estate. We would get them back by ourselves, by Evergreen is a very powerful and influential man who is also a highly trained wizard. Please help us, the village is called Lianarido. Thank you kindly.

**Reward: 100,000 jewels**

"Hey Erza, how old are you," Lucy asked kindly. Erza lifted an eyebrow but still decided to answer.

"I'm 19, why do you ask," Erza replied. Lucy sighed and pointed at the paper.

"Did anyone read this? All females from ages 15 to 18 are being kidnapped, I'm 17. That means it's possible that I could be kidnapped," Lucy stated. Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Happy's eyes widened with shock.

"You're only 17? I thought you were in your 20s because of how polite you are," Erza said. Lucy cursed under her breath; she had forgotten that she had only given them her name. Lucy quickly nodded and smiled.

"I guess we don't know a lot about each other, huh," Lucy said, "Anyway, let's take the job." Lucy then stood up and headed towards Mira, who was still at the bar.

"Hey Mira, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Happy, and me are going to take this mission," Lucy said as she placed the request in front of Mira. Mira smiled and nodded as she proceeded to assign the mission to them.

"Here you go," Mira said, handing the mission back," Good luck Lucy, make sure you're prepared." Lucy smiled and nodded as she walked back over to the table everyone was sitting at. She placed the mission on the table before telling them that she was going to get ready. Everyone agreed to meet up at Lucy's house, then go to the train station from there. Lucy left soon after that.

"Don't you find it weird that Lucy won't tell us anything about herself," Gray commented after Lucy was gone.

"It is quite strange, she wouldn't even tell us her last name," Erza said.

"Hey, it's not like I opened up right away when I first joined Fairy Tail," Natsu said. Happy yelled a happy aye. Erza sighed as she looked towards him.

"That was different Natsu, Master knew everything about you. With Lucy though, the only one who knows anything about her is, well, Lucy," Erza said.

"Should we ask Mira to dig up some info about Lucy," Gray asked. Erza nodded and sighed. Natsu and Happy on the other hand, were completely against it.

"We should, but I have no idea what Mira will be able to dig up with only a first name and a face," Erza said as she walked over to Mira. She then asked Mira to dig up info about Lucy, which Mira agreed to do. Natsu stood up and walked out the guild angrily with Happy behind him.

"Natsu, what's wrong," Happy asked.

"Erza and Gray should trust Lucy a bit more. She'll probably open up to us if we give her time. I know! Let's go see Lucy," Natsu said as he ran to Lucy's house.

"Natsu, wait up," Happy cried as he followed him. A few minutes later, Natsu was getting into Lucy's house by using the window. He could hear water running and wondered if she was in the bathroom. Natsu, being bored, decided to go digging through Lucy's house.

He first went to the bookcase, but found nothing interesting. Natsu then looked at Lucy's desk. It seemed normal at first, until he found a secret compartment filled to the brim with sealed letters that had never been sent.

"Strange," he muttered as he grabbed one. Lucy then came out of the bathroom and started to get changed in her bedroom, unaware that Natsu was in the living room. Natsu heard that the water turned off and quickly put the letter back and closed the compartment quietly.

"Hey Lucy," Natsu said happily as Lucy walked into the room. Lucy smiled and waved.

"Hi Nat-! How did you get into my house? And where's Happy," Lucy asked, taking everything in. Natsu looked at the chairs to see Happy taking a power nap on one.

"Well, Happy is on your chair napping. I got into your house through the window. If you want everyone to meet up at your house then you shouldn't lock the door," Natsu said. Lucy sighed as she unlocked her door. She then started to pack her bag with a first aid kit, food, water, some money, a blanket, and a change of clothes.

"My door was locked to keep people out of my house until they knocked so that I could let them into my house," Lucy said.

"But isn't that difficult and time consuming," Natsu questioned. Before Lucy could reply, Gray and Erza strolled into Lucy's apartment.

"This is quite a nice place Lucy," Erza said.

"It's too warm," Gray said, stripping until he was only in his boxers without realizing it. Lucy stood up and threw her bag's strap onto her shoulder.

"Well Gray, I don't know what to tell you since this is room temperature," Lucy said. She then turned around and smiled.

"Should we get going," Lucy said kindly as she picked her celestial keys up off of her desk and hooked them to her belt. Erza nodded as she opened the door.

"We should go, I'll lead the way," Erza said. Lucy picked up Happy and handed him to Natsu.

"Out you two go, I need to lock the door," she said. Natsu took Happy and exited the apartment, followed by Gray and Erza. Lucy left the place last and locked the door behind her.

"Now, to an awesome adventure," Natsu cheered.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Better to Learn Now Than Later

Lucy sat down on the train next to the window. Next to her was Natsu, who had motion sickness. Unfortunately, she had found that out the hard way. The hard way was Natsu nearly throwing up on her. She groaned, next time she'll make sure she's not sitting next to him. Lucy looked at Happy, who was sitting in her lap.

"Hey Happy, is Natsu always this bad on trains," Lucy asked the blue cat. Erza, who was sitting across from Lucy, looked at Lucy. Gray, who was sitting next to Erza, also looked up.

"You mean you didn't know," Erza questioned.

"I didn't know what," Lucy asked.

"Wow, you really don't know," Gray said.

"I don't know what," Lucy yelled.

"You don't know that Natsu has extreme motion sickness. He gets sick whenever he is on a moving vehicle. It doesn't matter if it's on water, land, or in the sky, he'll get sick," Happy said.

"Ah… That's nice to know. Guess we'll be walking most of the time. Am I right," Lucy asked. Erza nodded, after that the rest of the ride was silent. It was almost like Erza and Gray didn't want to talk to her.

'Did I do something wrong to make them not trust me,' Lucy wondered. She then sighed before she put her forehead on the cold glass of the window.

'Mama, how are you? Can you read my thoughts while you're in heaven? I hope you can. I have so much to tell you, I'd write it on paper but I don't have any with me right now. Mama… I have new friends; at least I hope we'll all become friends. I didn't tell them my full name or anything about me, was that wrong to do? Mama… I miss you so much,' Lucy thought to herself as she closed her eyes. She just wished she could write it all in a letter instead.

_An Hour or Two Later…_

"Hello passengers, we have now arrived at Lianarido. Please exit the train if this is your stop. We hope you've had a wonderful ride and will ride again soon," a women over the loudspeaker said. Lucy woke up to the annoying voice and groaned. She stood up and grabbed her small bag. Erza threw Natsu over her shoulder while Gray also stood up. Happy was sitting on top of Lucy's head lazily.

"Let's go crew," Erza said. Lucy nodded and followed Erza. Gray walked next to Lucy and smiled.

"So why don't you tell us a bit about yourself Lucy," Gray said. Lucy looked up and smiled.

"Sure. Well, I'm 17 years old. I lived with my father in a house far away from here. There was no one nearby that was my age so I never really had any fun. My father never let me learn anything about the outside world unless it was something he wanted me to know. He usually had me study and hated that I could use magic. Father never let me train my magic so my mom taught me. I guess it's obvious that I didn't have a normal childhood," Lucy said as the group walked. When Lucy had started talking, Natsu had been perfectly ok since they were off the train and had been walking on his own.

"Wow Lucy that seems kind of hard to go through. How'd you do it," Erza asked.

"I had my Celestial Spirits by my side. As long as I had them as friends I was fine," Lucy said with a smile.

"You mean you're fighting magic," Erza asked, a bit shocked. A flashback then hit Lucy hard when she heard those words.

_ "Papa! Look at the drawing of my friends," a young Lucy said happily as she lifted it up a hand drawn picture of her Celestial Spirits to her father. Her father looked up from his work and walked to Lucy. At first, it looked like he was about to take the picture out of her hand, but then Lucy's father lifted up his hand and slapped Lucy hard._

_ "I thought I told you that those worthless Celestial Spirits are not your friends! They're nothing but weapons," Lucy's father yelled._

"They aren't weapons like everyone says they are. Celestial Sprits are people too and I love them like I would love family! They've always been there for me," Lucy yelled. Looking into her eyes, it was obvious to tell that she wasn't 'there', but somewhere else.

"Lucy, are you ok," Erza asked as she looked at Lucy. Lucy suddenly shook her head quickly before stopping and lightly hitting her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry; I just remembered a really bad memory. But yeah, I mean my Celestial Spirits. Is it wrong to make friends of them," Lucy asked like nothing had happened.

"No not at all. I was just a bit shocked, most Celestial Spirit wizards think of Celestial Spirits as weapons and shields," Erza said.

"I guess I'm different in a lot of ways. Oh look, there's an inn. We should get a room before we go to get the girls back," Lucy said.

"Yeah, I don't want to carry everything with us on our mission," Natsu said as he ran to the inn.

"Come back here flame brain," Gray yelled, running after Natsu. Erza then ran after them, while Lucy stayed behind with Happy on her head.

"They can never know the truth," Lucy whispered to herself.

"What was that Lucy," Happy asked.

"Oh! Nothing Happy, why don't you go on ahead," she said.

"Nah, I'll stay here with you," Happy said. Lucy smiled and reached up to pet Happy's head.

"You're awesome Happy. You know that, right," Lucy asked.

"Aye," Happy said with joy. Lucy laughed while walking to the inn.

"You're supposed to say 'No but thanks for the compliment'. Don't you know that Happy," Lucy said.

"But I already knew I was awesome so I didn't want to lie," Happy said. Lucy then laughed again and walked inside the inn. What a job this was going to turn out to be.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: So, Shall We Start?

"One room please, only for tonight," Erza said to the man standing at the desk inside the inn. The man looked up and smiled as he grabbed a key.

"That will be 100,000 jewels (That's $100) please," the man said. Erza handed over the jewels and took the key. She then walked over to the gang, who were sitting down and talking. Erza could hear what they were saying as she approached them.

"Lucy, you're so weird," Natsu said.

"If anyone here is weird then it's _you _Natsu since _I _don't eat _fire_," Lucy fought back. Gray laughed and nodded.

"She's go you there Natsu, eating fire is weird. Lucy, on the other hand, has done _nothing_ weird _**so far**_," Gray said.

"Hey! What's that supposed? I don't take off my clothes without noticing like you do. In fact, your clothes are missing right now Gray," Lucy said. This caused Natsu and Happy to laugh. Gray on the other hand, was cursing as he searched for his clothing. Erza smiled, maybe she had been wrong to judge Lucy just because Lucy hadn't told everyone her last name.

"Ok everyone, I got the room key. Let's go put our things down then we'll head off for Sir Evergreen's place," Erza said. Lucy stood up with Happy flying over her head. Gray and Natsu then stood up and looked at Erza.

"What room number do we have," Gray asked.

"Room 104, wh-," before Erza could finish Gray and Natsu were running up the stairs, determined to beat the other to the room.

"Those idiots," Lucy giggled. She then looked at Erza and smiled, but it looked like a forced smile. In fact, Erza was kind of worried in a way. Did Lucy always force herself to smile?

"I guess we should go. Those morons forgot that _I _have the key," Erza said. Lucy and Erza then walked up the stairs. When they got to the room, they found the exhausted forms of Gray and Natsu.

"I made it here first," Gray huffed.

"No way, I was here way before you," Natsu yelled. Lucy laughed as she took the key from Erza, opened the door, and walked inside.

"I just won this battle since I was inside of the room before any of you," Lucy stated simply. The boys looked flabbergasted while Erza looked impressed.

"Nice one Lucy! You sure showed them," Happy said. Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Happy then walked inside and put their stuff down.

"So, shall we start this fun adventure of ours," Lucy said. She had used a cheesy British accent to try and make everyone laugh; it worked.

"Let's go," Natsu yelled. The group of five then ran outside of the inn and all the way to Sir Evergreen's manor. Lucy looked at it and laughed inside her head. She bit her lip to hold back giggles, but to everyone else it looked like she was worried.

_'The Heartfilia Estate is nearly 20 times bigger than this old dump,'_ she thought. Lucy instantly regretted it, and a quick look of worry passed through her features.

"Don't worry so much, Lucy. We'll all be fine," Natsu said. Lucy then looked at him before giving him a small smile of thanks.

"Ok, so we need to sneak in. Got it Natsu? We _sneak _in," Erza said seriously. Natsu nodded as he looked up at the place. Then, being the idiot he is, Natsu ran straight into the mansion and announced to the world that they were there. Lucy, Gray, Happy, and Erza followed him, extremely annoyed.

"Ah, so you've brought a fine looking young lady? That won't win me over, but I'll definitely accept the gift," a man's voice echoed. They group looked around for the voice, but couldn't find the source. Lucy suddenly tensed up as she felt someone breathing near her ear.

"Found the source," Lucy said in shock, her voice was just loud enough for everyone to face her and see the man behind her, The man was tall, maybe standing at 5"9'. His dark brown eyes matched his hair, which was neatly groomed. The man wore a tuxedo, which wouldn't be good fighting clothes at all.

"My name is Sir O'Brian Evergreen, age 19. I thank you kindly for the gift," Sir Evergreen said. HE then grabbed Lucy by the waist and jumped into the air, suddenly appearing on the second floor. The second floor looked down upon the entryway.

"When did I become a gift you pervert! You're just another sicko! There's no way that you are a strong wizard," Lucy yelled. She fought Evergreen's grasp, but ended up unsuccessful.

"Hey you with the funny name, come down here and fight us," Natsu yelled. Erza requiped a sword and got into a fighting stance. Gray stood there, ready to fight. Happy was flying while Natsu was just being Natsu.

"I'll fight you some other time, I have things to do. Here's a deal, if you can find me inside the mansion then I'll fight you. I won't move from the room I'm in and I'll take this pretty woman with me," Sir Evergreen said.

"Hey, don't I get a say in this," Lucy yelled/asked. She was obviously annoyed that she was being forgotten. Not that she hadn't expected this to happen; she barely knew Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Happy.

"You can't take our nakama with you," Happy yelled. He then flew towards Lucy, but was thrown back by a magic spell casted by Sir Evergreen.

"I'm positive that I can. Don't worry, she'll be treated like a guest," Sir Evergreen said.

"Find all of the other girls before you come after me. I'll be fine," Lucy said. She gave the group of four a smile before disappearing with Sir Evergreen against her will. Natsu's hands tightened into fists,

"We save the village girls first, then we go and save our nakama. Let's hurry up, we have no idea what Sir Evergreen might do to Lucy," Erza said. Gray nodded in agreement while Happy said a soft 'Aye.'

Natsu sighed, "Let's do this quickly."


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello my dear readers! I'm so sorry that this took so long! I had a school project to do (I'm in 8th grade! Don't yell at me for dumb school crap!) and it was done over the last three days! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!**

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><p>Chapter 9: Nothing is Ever Easy<p>

The hallway was quite except for the pounding of feet echoing throughout the place. Doors were frantically being flung open by Natsu and Happy. Gray and Erza kept up with them, trying to explain that they should _actually_ search for the girls. What Happy and Natsu were doing, it was definitely _not_ searching. It looked more like they were trying to make the mansion to crumble to the ground by flinging the doors open and harshly slamming them shut after.

"Natsu, stop this nonsense now," Erza yelled as she glared at him. Natsu instantly stopped and turned to face Erza. A look of fear seemed to be plastered to his face. Happy stopped as well and sat on Natsu's head.

"A-Aye," the two stuttered simultaneously. Gray and Erza then stopped walking to catch their breath. Gray sighed as he looked at Erza.

"You couldn't have done that sooner," he questioned. Erza glared at him and Gray instantly shut up. "The girls are probably somewhere we wouldn't look. So, why not check the basement," Erza said. Natsu, Happy, and Gray nodded. The group of four then ran to the basement. There they found a shocking sight.

The floor was covered in blood; some blood was fresh and some of it was old. The room smelt like rust because of all the blood. There were girls throughout the room, they were all alive but most were horribly injured. The girls wore blood soaked clothes and had cuts over their bodies.

"We've come here to save you, Gray and I shall bring you out," Erza said seriously. Erza took a step forward only to step on a trap. An alarm went off and two mages appeared before the group of four. Both mages were in plain black cloak. The one on the left lifted his right hand up and shot out a powerful blast of sand. The mage on the right requipted a sword and ran towards Erza.

Erza quickly grabbed the sword that was at her side and raised it up to defend herself. The two swords clashed and a ring of metal hitting metal could be heard ringing throughout the room. Erza swung her sword only to have it clash the man's sword yet again. Erza and then man then proceeded to fight.

Meanwhile, Natsu was going against the mage that was blasting out sand. They figured out that he used earth magic when the mage had covered his hands in earth. The mage was using his fists to fight. Clanging of metal could still be heard throughout the room. The girls were in a corner, scared for their lives.

"Fire Dragon's Roar," Natsu yelled. He then blew a long line of fire at the mage. The mage jumped out of the way, but his foot was caught in the attack. The black cloaked mage seemed to wince when he put his right foot which was now badly burned on the ground.

"Earth Magic: Spear," the black cloaked mage said. The mage lifted his hands up, when he did a several long and sharp pieces of earth levitated in the air. The mage then slammed his hands onto the ground, which made the spears fly towards Natsu. Natsu dodged most of them, but two of them had given him a few cuts. There was a deep up on the upper part of his left arm and a small cut on his cheek.

"Fire Dragon's Iron First," Natsu yelled, charging at the mage. Natsu's left fist was engulfed in flames right before he made contact with the mage's stomach. The mage wheezed as the air was pushed out of his lungs. The mage slammed into the ground and fainted when his head hit the floor with a sickening crack.

Natsu looked around to see Erza still fighting. Gray had been getting the girls out of the cold basement a little at a time. Happy was helping Gray get the girls out of the basement. Natsu looked back towards Erza just in time to see her deliver the finishing blow to the other mage. Erza had a few cuts and bruises covering her body, but it wasn't something that a day of sleeping couldn't fix. The mage slumped to the floor, his cloak drenched in blood.

"All the girls are out," Gray said. Natsu and Erza faced him, seeing that Happy was standing next to Gray's leg.

"Aye, all the girls are free. Let's go get Lucy and get outta here," Happy said. A smile was on Happy's face at the thought of getting Lucy. Sure he didn't know Lucy that well but he still liked her a lot. Natsu smiled and so did Erza.

"What are you two waiting for? If you keep standing there then I'll find Lucy first," Gray yelled as he ran down the hall. Natsu glared and ran after Gray with Happy and Erza following behind.

"You idiot, I'll find Lucy first! I can smell her scent," Natsu said. Natsu turned left at the first intersection in the halls. He then ran to the end of the hall and slammed the door open.

"Lucy," Natsu yelled. He stared in shock as he looked at Lucy. Erza, Gray, and Happy stood behind Natsu with the same look of shock on his face as they stared at Lucy.

Lucy stood before Sir Evergreen with her Celestial Keys pointed at him. Lucy's hands were trembling and covered in blood. She had bruises and cuts covering her body. There was a pool of crimson red blood at her feet; it was Lucy's own blood. She was panting and struggling to stand up. Taurus stood before Lucy, but was starting to disappear in a golden glow. Lucy then seemed to notice the group of four at the door.

"Sorry… I couldn't get… rid of him," Lucy mumbled. Her knees then gave out and she fell face first into her own pool of blood. The group's eyes widened and Sir Evergreen's maddening laugh echoed throughout the room.

"Lucy!"


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Silence Doesn't Help the Pain

Everyone ran into the room as soon as Lucy had fallen. Natsu was the first to get to her side. He lifted her face out of her pool of blood and checked for a pulse. It was faint and slowing down, but her pulse was there. Lucy's breathing was shallow as Natsu picked up Lucy and put her in Erza's arms.

"You need to get her back to a hospital or Fairy Tail quickly. You go too, Happy. Gray and I can handle this bastard. Then we'll pick up the reward and head to the guild, okay?" Natsu said. It was obvious to hear how pissed her was that someone has hurt his nakama. Erza sighed and looked at Natsu.

"I can't leave without you two. So I'll bring Lucy to a hospital then come back. If you're done before I come back go to the hospital," Erza explained. Gray and Natsu nodded, they then turned around to face Sir Evergreen. He was laughing like a maniac at the sight of all the blood. Gray and Natsu looked at each other, gave a slight nod, than charged at Sir Evergreen.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist," Natsu yelled as he charged. Anger shown in Natsu's eyes, a look that showed that he was ready to kill or horribly injure the man in front of him.

"Ice-Make: Lance," Gray yelled. He extended his arms forward. When he did this, long curved lances of ice shot out at all directions; their goal was to impale Sir Evergreen from where he stood. Sir Evergreen dodged Natsu's blow, but was hit with a few of Gray's lances.

One of Gray's lances had ripped the entire right sleeve off of Sir Evergreen's shirt. Another had cut deeply into his left leg. A third lance had nicked the man's cheek, and the last lance that had hit had barely touched Sir Evergreen's stomach.

"Damn it! Again," Natsu yelled as he tried the same attack. Once again, Sir Evergreen dodged the blow. Natsu kept using the attack until it was a flurry of fists of fire and dodges.

"Try something else you idiot! Ice-Make: Ice Cannon," Gray yelled. This time, a bazooka-like hand-held cannon made out of ice formed in Gray's hands. He then fired a cannonball made out of solid ice towards Sir Evergreen.

"I was just about to you stupid snowman," Natsu yelled. Natsu then waited to see what would happen to Gray's cannonball. Natsu wasn't stupid enough to attack when _ice _was heading at the enemy. Natsu was smart enough to know that fire melts ice and that ice turns to water. Water isn't going to be a real damage dealer in this battle. Sir Evergreen was hit in the stomach with the cannon ball. He slammed into the wall and coughed up blood. He fell to his knees, but stood back up and laughed histerically.

"It'll take more than that to get rid of me! Forbidden Magic: Shadow Ball," Sir Evergreen yelled. Darkness came from the shadows around the room and into his hand in the shape of a sphere. Sir Evergreen then threw the sphere towards the two boys. Natsu dodged the attack, but Gray was hit full force in the stomach.

"Crap," Gray coughed when he felt the sphere make contact with his stomach.

Natsu glared and charged at the man in front of him, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" His fist made contact with Sir Evergreen's stomach. Sir Evergreen was slammed against the wall. Natsu then continued to pumble Sir Evergreen with punches. After several punches, Sir Evergreen fainted from the amount of damage he took.

Natsu then threw Gray over his shoulder and dragged Sir Evergreen by his collar. Natsu walked out of the mansion and headed to the hospital. When he got there, he met up with Erza. Erza had collected the reward and all of their luggage. Lucy was still in the hospital, her room was 309. Natsu left Sir Evergreen tied up with the luggage. Gray then woke up and stood up by himself.

"Is Lucy doing ok," Gray asked Erza.

"No, she's in critical condition. The only thing they can do here is wrap up her wounds so they don't bleed as badly as they were. She needs to be brought back to Fairy Tail as fast as possible. Let's go grab Lucy, she should be all wrapped up by now," Erza said. The group of three walked into the hospital and went to room 309.

Happy was in the room, sitting on the bed next to a fainted Lucy. Happy sighed as he looked at Lucy. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. Her cuts were covered in bandages and slowly turning red from her blood soaking into the bandages. Everyone was quiet as they looked at Lucy. Erza picked Lucy up and headed downstairs.

Natsu, Gray, and Happy followed behind Erza. Erza carried Lucy to the train station with Gray and Natsu pulling the luggage. They then got onto the train and sat down. Natsu didn't complain about the train ride for once. Everyone was quiet on the ride, there wasn't even a sound.

Although everyone hoped that the quiet would make everyone forget, but it seemed to do just the opposite. The ride to Fairy Tail was awkward, and no one tried to start a conversation. It was unnatural for everyone, but none of them could be happy when their nakama was hurt.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: What Happened

When Erza, Natsu, Happy, and Gray walked into Fairy Tail with a severely injured Lucy, everyone started working on helping Lucy. Mirajane quickly ran with Erza, Natsu, Happy, and Gray to Magnolia Hospital with Lucy in hand. When they got there, they were quickly given a room. Several hours later, a nurse walked into the waiting room.

"Ah, hello. Lucy has woken up if you wish to see her. She is in room 777. We've healed her severe injuries and she should be able to leave by tomorrow afternoon," the young nurse said. The nurse then left. The group of five walked into Lucy's room to see her standing by the window.

"Lucy, you're supposed to be laying down," Mirajane scolded. Lucy turned around and smiled at everyone. Her arms and legs were covered in bandages and well as her feet. Some parts of the bandages were red from blood while others were a pure white.

"I'm fine Mira, I didn't take _that _bad of a beating," Lucy lied. Even though she said that, Mirajane forced Lucy into the bed. Lucy sat down and sighed. Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Happy walked inside the room. Erza closed the door behind them.

"What happened to you Lucy," Erza asked. Lucy looked at Erza and sighed.

"I should have known that question would come up sooner or later. Ok, so it goes like this," Lucy said. She then started to tell everything that happened to the group of five.

_**Flash Back**_

_ Lucy stood before Sir Evergreen inside of a room with teal walls and white carpet. There was no furniture, which Lucy found weird, and only one window. Lucy noticed how close she was to Sir Evergreen and jumped back. She then held out her celestial keys and glared at the man before her._

_ "Where am I? What do you want with me," Lucy asked. She sounded forceful and demanding. She held Taurus' key in her hand. Sir Evergreen smirked and took a step towards Lucy._

_ "I just want you," Sir Evergreen said. Lucy looked disgusted._

_ "You sick pervert! I call upon the golden bull, Taurus! Open the gate," Lucy yelled. Taurus then appeared before Lucy and smiled._

_ "Hello Lucy. You and your beautiful body are looking beautiful today. Moo," he said. Lucy face palmed as sighed. __**'I forgot he was a pervert too,'**__ she thought._

_ "Taurus, I need you to attack the man before you," she yelled. Taurus nodded and charged at Sir Evergreen, his ax was on his back so that he wouldn't kill the man._

_ "You made the wrong decision girl. Forbidden Magic: Shadow Claw," Sir Evergreen yelled. A giant hand made of shadows came out of the ground. It swatted Taurus to the left side of the room._

_ "Taurus," Lucy yelled in shock. She started heading towards him to see if he was okay. Then, she was hit by Shadow Claw as well. Lucy was slammed against the right wall. Lucy coughed up blood before sliding to the ground. She quickly stood up and ran towards Taurus again._

_ "Are you going to keep running towards that pathetic weapon? Forbidden Magic: Raining Blades," Sir Evergreen yelled. Millions of blades floated over Lucy before falling to the ground like rain. The blades cut her nearly everywhere. Some cuts they left were small, others were large. Most of them were deep gashes while a few just barely left a mark on her skin._

_ Lucy let out a blood curdling scream as she fell to floor in pain. Taurus stood up and talked to his master. He held out a hand to her and she took it. He then lifted her up and helped her stand on her feet. Lucy smiled and thanked Taurus._

_ "Taurus, attack again," Lucy said. Taurus followed Lucy's command and ran towards Sir Evergreen; this time he had his ax raised and ready to attack._

_ "Forbidden Magic: Death Sword," a sword appeared in Sir Evergreen's hand. Sir Evregreen then charged at Taurus, but dodged him at the last second and pushed the blade through Lucy's stomach. Taurus turned around in shock. Lucy's eyes widened as she coughed up blood, her pupils were smaller than usual as she tried to calm down._

_ Sir Evergreen pulled the sword out of her stomach before stabbing the sword into a different part of her stomach. Lucy coughed up more blood, which hit the floor and splattered. There was a puddle of blood at Lucy's feet and it was gradually growing bigger as more blood spilled. Sir Evergreen then left the sword in Lucy's stomach and was back at where he had originally been._

_ Lucy grabbed the hilt of the sword with both hands and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. Taurus' eyes widened as he realized what Lucy was going to do._

_ "Don't do it Lucy," he yelled. Lucy's eyes snapped open and she let out a yell as she started to pull the sword out of her stomach. Sir Evergreen laughed hysterically in the background. Soon, the sword was in Lucy's hand. She threw it to the side and panted in pain as more blood spilt. Taurus then started to fade away in a golden glow._

_ "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you Lucy," Taurus said. Lucy smiled at him and gave a small laugh._

_ "It's ok Taurus, it's not your fault," she said. She then lifted up her Celestial keys and pointed them at Sir Evergreen._

'_**I wonder if I can summon Aquarius through my blood… Probably not. Either way she would kill me if I did,' **__Lucy thought. Her hands trembled in pain and were covered in her own blood, her blood made it hard for her to hold onto her Celestial keys. She could barely stand when she heard the doors slam open. Lucy looked at the open door to see the shocked look on her comrades faces._

"_Sorry… I couldn't get… rid of him," she mumbled. Lucy then fell into her own pool of blood._

'_**I failed them,' **__she thought before falling unconscious._


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: It's Strange, Really

Everyone looked at Lucy, as if they were waiting for her to say that she was kidding. Lucy never did though, she was serious. The white hospital room was oddly quiet to where Lucy started to squirm from the awkwardness.

"Guys, are you ok," Lucy asked. Erza, Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Mirajane looked up at Lucy. Mirajane then ran and hugged Lucy again.

"Ack! M-Mira," Lucy stuttered in shock. Mira then looked at Gray and Erza. She let go and walked towards the door.

"Erza and Gray, I need to speak with you outside," Mira said. Erza and Gray nodded then walked outside the room. Lucy, Natsu, and Happy looked at each other in confusion, Natsu shrugged as if telling Lucy he didn't know.

_**Outside of the Room**_

"What is it Mira," Erza asked. Gray was leaning on the wall as he looked at Mira. Mira sighed and looked and Erza and Gray seriously.

"It's strange; I couldn't find any information on Lucy. If you want to know more about her you should talk to Lucy about it," Mira said. Erza and Gray looked at Mira in shock.

"You couldn't find anything on her," Erza said, usually no emotion showed on her face. Gray sighed as he stood up.

"Gray, you're clothes," Erza said. Gray looked down to see he only had his boxers on. He cursed and started looking for her clothes. Suddenly, the door to Lucy's hospital room opened. Lucy walked outside and smiled. She was dressed in her normal clothes and had removed all the bandages to show healed scars.

"Let's go," Lucy said with a smile as she fist pumped. Erza, Gray, and Mira looked at Lucy with a questioning glance. Lucy smiled as she started walking downstairs. Natsu walked out of the room with a smile while Happy stood beside him.

"Lucy said she's all better now," Natsu said before following Lucy. Happy yelled a cheerful aye and flew after Lucy. Erza and the others then went downstairs. Together, the group of six went back to Fairy Tail to tell the good news.

The group walked to Fairy Tail while chatting. They passed by several couples and families. On the way, Lucy seemed to space out and stop walking. No one noticed until they had walked a few feet away.

The group of five looked back to see Lucy staring at a happy family of three. There was a father, mother, and young girl. The girl and mother both had blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. The father had darker blonde hair that seemed to be turning gray with age. His eyes were black and he seemed well kept with his suit and trimmed hair. The family laughed joyfully, making Lucy tighten her fist. She had never been lucky enough to have such a great family. It wasn't fair!

"Luce?"

Lucy looked up to see her group of friends staring at her with worry. Lucy's fist tightened as she left the small trance she was in. She shook her head and smiled before running to catch up with everyone.

"Sorry everyone, I'm ok now," she said. They then continued to walk until they were back at Fairy Tail. Everyone had been wondering why Lucy had stopped walking, but no one asked. Even Natsu didn't ask, but it was obvious that he wanted to.

"We're back everyone! We brought Lucy too," Natsu cheered as he threw the doors opened. Everyone looked up and smiled at Lucy as she walked in. Everyone kept telling her that they were happy that she was ok. Lucy smiled and thanked them all. Makarov then walked up and smiled.

"I'm happy to see that you are ok Lucy. Did you tell your parents," he asked sincerely. Lucy froze at the question, her eyes widened just a little bit. When she didn't answer the question, a few of her friends looked up and towards her with a questioning look.

"Of course I told them," Lucy said, following with an awkward laugh. Makarov gave Lucy a suspicious look.

"I really did! I should head home now and get some more rest, I'm sorry I worried everyone," Lucy said. She then ran out the guild and to her apartment. She locked the door behind her and got some paper. She then sat at her desk and started to write.

_Dear Mother,_

_ I went on my first mission today and I also got my first injuries on a mission. Don't worry though, I'm ok and safe. I think the guild might be getting a bit suspicious though, since they keep giving me questioning looks and suspicious glances. I don't blame them though; I would be suspicious of someone who wouldn't tell me anything about themselves._

_ I really worried though, what will happen if Father finds me or sends someone after me? I wish you were here right now to guide me through this horrible mess. I'm scared Mother, I'm scared for my friends and myself. Father is unpredictable, who knows what he will do? Please, wish me luck._

_ Your Loving Daughter,_

_ Lucy Heartfilia_

Lucy folded the letter and put it into and envelope. She then sealed it shut with a wax seal that had the initials "LH" and put the letter away in a jewelry box. Lucy then took a warm bath and got dressed into some pajamas.

"Good night, Mother," she whispered before falling into a deep slumber.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: My Full Name Is…

Lucy woke up to noise is her kitchen. She sighed as she mumbled something that wasn't heard. She twisted and turned around a bit, but finally woke up when the noise coming from the kitchen was to loud to sleep through. Lucy stood up and got dressed into a dark green tang top and dark blue jean shorts that ended mid-thigh. She had a light brown belt on that held her whip, Celestial Keys, and a small brown pouch that held her money. She also had on dark green sandals.

Lucy walked into her kitchen to see Natsu and Happy raiding her fridge. She stood there in shock for a second before swinging her leg, landing a blow on both Natsu and Happy. The daring duo slammed into the wall while Lucy screamed.

"Ow Lucy, what was that for," Natsu asked as he held a hand on her face.

"What do you think you're doing in my room," Lucy snapped back. Happy shoved a raw fish into his mouth while Natsu ate some chicken.

"Whe came to bwing yuh to tha gwuild," Natsu said, his mouth full of food.

"Swallow and repeat," Lucy said with a sigh. Natsu swallowed and flashed Lucy a grin, which showed off his unnaturally sharp canine teeth.

"We came to bring you to the guild," he replied. Lucy sighed as she shut her fridge and opened her door.

"Let's go then. Everyone must be waiting for us," Lucy said. She smiled as Natsu ran out of the door and grabbed her hand. Lucy let out a gasp as she was pulled along, she heard her house door slam and thanked happy silently for closing her door. Happy was then flying alongside them.

Lucy barely had time to look at the river or even look inside the new shops. In fact, Lucy felt a bit sick from how fast they were running. Lucy tried, and failed, several times to get Natsu to stop running so fast. Lucy was starting to have trouble telling what was the sky and what was the ground.

"Natsu, please stop! I might puke," Lucy cried out as he continued to run.

"What was that Luce," Natsu asked as he continued to run. Lucy sighed what was with that nickname? It wasn't even shorter that her name! In fact, it almost sounded like Luke. She hoped that he didn't call her that around people she didn't know.

A small smile appeared on her face as she continued to be dragged. She had never had this much fun! Lucy felt as if she was known as Lucy, not by her last name. She hated her last name; it gave her a title and a life with no fun. No, you couldn't even call what she had back then a life.

A life gave you decisions and consequences. Back at her home, she had everything chosen for her. It would never be a life, it would always be a stage. A stage in which she was the puppet and the puppet master was her father.

When they got to the guild, Natsu flung the doors open. Lucy sighed as she snatched her hand away from Natsu's grip. She walked up to Levy, who was at the bar with Mirajane. Natsu started fighting with Gray, but they were then scared by Erza

"Hello Levy. Hello Mirajane," Lucy said as she sat down. Levy let out a cheerful hello and so did Mira. Lucy smiled as she asked for some water. Mira gave her a glass full of water and Lucy took a sip. Erza and Gray were quietly discussing if they should talk to Lucy about herself. After a long discussion about the topic, Erza walked up to Lucy.

"Lucy, do you mind telling me your last name," Erza asked politely. Lucy's smile instantly disappeared once Erza asked the question. Lucy's eyes darkened as she stood up. Her once happy demeanor took and 180 change. This caught the attention of Gray, Natsu, Happy, Levy, Mira, and even the guild master.

"I do mind. That is my person business and has nothing to do with you unless it interferes with a mission or the guild," Lucy said, her voice laced with anger. Erza looked a bit shocked, but she quickly glared at Lucy.

"What are you hiding from us, Lucy," Erza asked. Lucy sighed as she sat back down and looked away.

"That is none of your business Erza. Just like your right eye, which is obviously artificial, is none of my business," Lucy stated coldly. Erza bit down a snide comment. Just as she was about to retort, the guild doors slammed open. The guild looked towards the door to see a civilian. Lucy's eyes widened as she stood up. The civilian walked right up to her and smiled.

"Hello Lucy-Sama **(A/N For everyone who doesn't know, sama means princess or mistress)**. I was sent by your father to pick you up from this… place," the civilian said with disgust.

"Ah, good evening Tomas. Tell Father that this is my home and I will not be returning," Lucy said.

"But Madam, your Father said that if you don't return home then he will have to go to extreme measures," Tomas said. Lucy led him to the door and had him leave. She could already hear whispers from the guild members.

"I guess since that's happened I might as well tell you. I was hoping nothing would happen," Lucy said. Erza lifted her eyebrow up in confusion. Everyone else watched silently. Lucy turned around to face the guild.

"My name is "Lucky" Lucy Heartfilia," Lucy said. Everyone gasped and the guild went silent. Lucy stood in place, waiting for the questioning she would soon get from Erza to begin.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: I Never Meant to Lie

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner, Lucy? Didn't you think we deserved to know this," Erza asked, obviously angry and hurt. Lucy hid her eyes behind her bangs as she looked down at her face. Everyone in the guild mumbled things that Lucy wished they had never said. She should have told them sooner, but she was scared.

"I never meant to lie to everyone. I was scared and didn't want to bring it up. What if you brought me back home? What if you no longer wanted me here? What would I do then," Lucy said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Her words were choked out as she tried to hold back sobs. Erza's stern look faltered for a second.

"Tell us now then. Don't keep hiding this from us," Gray said. Lucy looked up at Gray, her eyes still filled with tears. She bit down on her lip and Gray ran over. Natsu was still trying to comprehend everything.

"Hey! Come on Lucy, stop crying! Just tell us everything now," Gray said, trying to get her to stop. Natsu then ran over with Happy flying full speed at Lucy. Happy hugged Lucy, his face on her breasts. Lucy instantly had a little laugh when that happened and patted his head.

"C'mon Luce, stop you're crying," Natsu said. Gray glared at Natsu and punched his shoulder.

"Stop copying me Flame Brain," he yelled. Natsu punched Gray back.

"You wanna go Snowman," Natsu questioned angrily. The two then started fighting. Lucy laughed whole heartedly as she wiped her tears away. Erza, who was relieved to see that Lucy had stopped crying, walked over.

"Is there fighting going on here," she asked. The two boys instantly stopped and threw their arms over each other's shoulder.

"No way Erza, just two friends getting along! Right, Natsu," Gray asked.

"Aye," Natsu called. Lucy finished wiping her tears and looked into Erza's eyes.

"I'll tell you everything. Everyone here deserves to know," Lucy said.

"Oh! Story time," Happy said happily. Everyone laughed before paying attention to Lucy's story. Lucy took a deep breath.

"Ok, so here's the story…"

-/ Flashback \-

_ A young Lucy, who looked to be around eight to ten years of age, stood before her nicely kept father. She was in his office with a rice ball in her hand. It had some seaweed on it that looked like a face. It had eyebrows, two eyes, and a mouth. Lucy smiled up at her father, who was buried in his work._

_ "Hi Papa, I made you something to eat," she said. Her father ignored her. Lucy's smile faded as she looked at her father._

_ "Ok Papa, I'll just leave it here for you. Make sure to eat it later," she said and put in on his desk. Her father slapped the rice ball away and glared at Lucy._

_ "We have personal chefs Lucy! If I'm hungry I'll have him make me something! If you have time to fool around then go study how to run a business! Now leave my office immediately," Lucy's father s screamed. Terror and fear shone in Lucy's chocolate brown eyes. She turned around and started walking out of the room. She passed by her rice ball and stopped._

_ "Um… Father…"_

_ "Leave now Lucy!"_

_ Lucy ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She ran down the hall, crying. She continued to run until she reached the door to her room. She slammed her back against the door and slid down to sit. She continued to cry outside of her room._

_ "B-But…. I-It's my… birthday…" she sobbed. She couldn't help but choke out strangled sobs as she sat there. She calmed herself down before heading outside. She went to her Mother's grave and ended up crying some more._

_ "Mama… why did you leave us," she asked. Lucy cried herself asleep in front of her mother's grave. No one found her until the next morning._

_**-/ Next Scene \-**_

_ Lucy stood before her father. He lifted his hand up and slapped her across the face. She held back a cry of pain and tears. She looked at her father and bit her lip._

_ "Lucy Heartfilia this is the third suitor this week that you have said no to. What are you thinking? How is this business supposed to grow if you won't marry someone," he asked._

_ "Father, I wish to marry someone that I really love! I do not want to marry someone because of the money they have! Is that so much to ask for," Lucy questioned._

_ "Yes Lucy Heartfilia, it is too much to ask for," her father yelled._

_ "Mother would surely want me to marry someone I love," she yelled. She was slapped again. This slap was even harder than the first and left a red mark on her face, it would surely bruise._

_ "Don't you dare bring your mother into this! You have no idea what she would want! If you won't listen than I rather not have you here," he yelled._

_ "Oh really? Then maybe I'll run away," Lucy yelled._

_ "I'd like to see you try," her father yelled back. Lucy left the room, slamming the door closed behind her. She ran to her room and ripped off her frilly dress. She then took a bath and cried._

_ "I'll leave," she mumbled, "you just watch."_

-/ Flashback Over \-

"I then ran away and ran into you three. It was really luck, since I was out of food and water. If not for you I would be dead," Lucy said. Everyone looked at her with pity and fury, pity for how she was treated and fury at her father.

_'Not pity,' _she thought, _'show me anything but pity. I hate pity so much…'_


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Stop Pitying Me!

"Stop pitying me! I don't think about it that much anymore. I'm no longer on a stage. My father is no longer my puppet master as I dance around on the stage he has created for himself. I will no longer be controlled, I now live free! This is my new home and that thing my Father called a home is nothing close to this home. So please, stop the pity. It annoys me. Anyway, isn't Fairy Tail my new home? Lucy burst out. She had said it without thinking and instantly became embarrassed.

How could she burst out and say something like that? They would be disgusted with her! There was no doubt in her mind. Lucy had hidden the truth from them out of fear. How could she call Fairy Tail her home if she couldn't even tell her 'family' important things? Lucy felt ashamed as she sat down and put her head in her hands.

"Luce, you aren't gunna cry again are you?" Natsu asked. He slung an arm around her shoulder. She looked up to see Natsu smiling at her as well as Gray, Happy, and Erza. Tears started to fall stream down her cheeks. These were tears of happiness though.

"Natsu, you ass, you made Lucy cry again!" Gray yelled. The two then got into another fight. Erza ignored them and sat down next to Lucy. Erza pulled Lucy into a friendly hug.

"I'm very sorry for being so mean. You should know that no one is angry at you. If I had known of your predicament sooner I would have beat your father to a pulp. Once you are done crying you can punch me," Erza said seriously. Lucy laughed and wiped her tears away.

"It's okay Erza. I forgive you. I'm not angry anyway, in fact I'm rather happy," Lucy replied.

"Why is that?"

"That's because I've finally found a place to call home…"

-/ Elsewhere \-

"So she refused to come home?"

"Yes sir, that is correct. "Lucky" Lucy Heartfilia refused to return home," Tomas said. A desk was placed before a window that overlooked the courtyard of the grand estate. Someone sat in a chair that was faced towards the window.

"Tomas…" a voice boomed.

"Yes sir?" Tomas replied respectfully.

"Send out a message to all guilds except for the one you found her in," the voice continued.

"What is this message?"

"Bring "Lucky" Lucy Heartfilia home alive and safe. The reward is 2 million jewels."

"Yes sir, right away," Tomas said. He then left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Lucy… I will teach you what it means to go against your father…

-/ In a Far Away Forest \-

A group of four stood alone. Each one had a mark on their body somewhere. The marking was a circle with a small heart in it. It almost seemed to be a guild mark. Maybe these people belonged to a dark guild?

"Are we ready to go everyone?" one person said. It seemed to be a male voice that seemed demanding. From the way the other three acted, everyone respected the owner of this voice. Blue eyes could be seen glowing as someone paced around.

"Yes, we are ready to go," another voice replied. This once seemed feminine. Rustling was heard as this voice spoke along with glowing green eyes. No one spoke after that, as if waiting for a cue.

"We are close to Fairy Tail. When we get there, we will get revenge for our master. No one will be left alive when we are done. For Master!" the first voice called out.

"For Master!" the other three replied. The group of four then marched off into the night. Not a single one spoke another word as the passed trees that all seemed the same. This group never got lost though, as they kept walking straight.

"Soon..." someone muttered," It will happen soon..."

* * *

><p>Hey guys! I made a music video for this story! Here's the link for it!<p>

Link to music video: .com/watch?v=CQGg6IAlTgo&list=UUTPRSrQMP2Smqr0QirVm0CA&index=4&feature=plcp


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Confusing Emotions

It was the day after Lucy's announcement that she was Lucy Heartfilia. Ever since then, things had been awkward between her and most of the guild members. It was hard for her to tell if people resented her or felt bad for her.

Lucy silently sat down at the bar as people ran around chatted. Lucy's emotions were jumbled up. Lucy couldn't tell when she was angry, happy, or about to cry! The only emotion that she could distinguish was fear. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would happen soon. Levy sat by Lucy's side, reading some papers contently. Mira was too busy to hang out with them, but it was obvious that she wanted too.

"Hey Lucy, what do you mean in this paragraph?" Levy asked. Lucy looked over Levy's shoulder and smiled.

"Oh! Right there I'm trying to explain the ma- wait. How did you get your hands on my story?" Lucy squealed. Levy giggled at Lucy's surprised face.

"Silly Lucy, Natsu gave me the rough draft and told me to read it," Levy giggled. Lucy's face turned red in embarrassment as she took the rough draft away.

"Don't read it Levy! The story is horrible and incomplete! I swear when I get my hands on Natsu he's dead! How did he even figure out about my story?" Lucy ranted. Levy laughed as she watched several expressions pass over Lucy's face one after another.

"C'mon Lucy, let me read it! I was at one of the good parts! I know, I can be your editor. That means I have to read all of your stories first, deal?" Levy asked. She looked severely excited to the point where she was bouncing in her chair. Lucy laughed and handed the rough draft back, her face still a light pink.

"Deal," Lucy said with a smile. She decided not to kill Natsu since he had technically done her a favor.

'Next time he does something like this without my permission, I swear he's dead,' Lucy thought to herself. She head was in her hand with her elbow on the bar. Sighing, she tried to shake off the feeling of fear that was coming on. A cold shiver ran down Lucy's back. She turned around to be face to face with Natsu.

"You okay Luce?" Natsu asked, tilting his head to the side. Lucy let out a sigh of relief and shook her head yes.

"That's good. Anyway, Erza and Gray want to talk to you a bit more ab-" Natsu was cut off as a huge amount of people crashed into the guild. This group of people all had a purple guild sign on their body somewhere. Lucy recognized the sign; it belonged to the guild Phantom Lord.

"Attack!" a voice rang out from the group. The two guilds then collided, forming one huge mess of fighting mages. Fire and ice clashed, creating steam with acted like a fog in the guild. The clanging of metal hitting metal was heard. Screams of pain and anger echoed through the guild, ringing in Lucy's ears.

Lucy hid behind the bar, scared and unable to figure out what she should do. Natsu had ran off right when the guild had entered, leaving Lucy alone. He had looked annoyed, maybe even angry. All she knew was that Natsu had ran off without another thought. Lucy had no right to stop him though, they barely knew each other and she had been lying to him. It was only fair that she was left behind. A dark shadow loomed over Lucy and she looked up, fear showing on her face.

"Found you. Damn you were quite the hard bitch to find. It doesn't matter now though," a boy with an evil grin on his face said. It was a tall muscular man with long spiky black hair and red eyes. He had five earrings on each ear along with small circular studs in several places. This included three studs over each eye, that somewhat looked like eyebrows. He also had three studs on each side of his nose and two studs on his chin; they were in a line under his lips. Both of his forearms were adorn with four studs. On his right shoulder was a purple Phantom Guild sign.

The man's outfit was strange. It consisted of a shabby, black, sleeveless tunic with studded edges. Along with this was a studded belt around his waist, loose whitish pants tucked inside studded black boots, and a pair of studded brown gloves paired with similarly studded wristbands. He also sported a distinctive wing-like ornament, seemingly made of feathers jutting upwards, over his right shoulder, attached to his tunic by a large stud.

"N-No… Stay away from me," Lucy stuttered with wide eyes. She gasped as a sharp and quick strike from the man before her made contact to her neck. Lucy fainted and slumped forward. The man grabbed Lucy roughly and threw her onto his shoulder.

"Part one was a success," he muttered. The man then ran out of Fairy Tail without being seen. He had used the fighting as a cover to get through. Once through the mess, he smirked and walked away. No one noticed that Lucy was missing. At least, no one noticed she was missing until it was too late.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Nothing To Gain, Everything To Lose

"Retreat! Members of Phantom Lord fall back and regroup!" some unknown person called from the mayhem. Quickly the members of Phantom Lord drained from the guild and headed back to their own. Fairy Tail was in shambles, but none of the members cared for that right now. They only cared about making sure everyone was safe.

"Guys, where's Lucy?" Mira asked in worry. She had taken a head count and Lucy was the only one missing. Natsu's head instantly shot up and the question. Gray and Erza looked up as well while Happy sat on Natsu's head.

"What do you mean? She should be here. Lucy didn't fight at all," Gray said.

"Are you sure Gray?" Erza asked.

"I'm positive that Lucy dove behind the bar," Gray replied.

"Gray… She wasn't there…" Mira said with a look of fear and worry on her face.

"You don't think…" Erza started. Mira nodded sadly before clenching her teeth together. She looked down at her feet and slowly made fists with her hands.

"I think Lucy was taken away during the fight," Mira chocked out. The room instantly got hotter and before anyone could comment, Natsu was running out the door at an alarming rate.

"Wait up flame brain!" Gray yelled, running after him. Erza followed close behind. How could they have been so stupid to have left Lucy alone? She was a new member and didn't know much about the guild yet. Plus, she had just told them a huge thing about her followed by her father wanting her to go home. Of course she would become a target that would be easy to catch. Erza had to make sure that Lucy punched her for her foolishness.

It was funny how Lucy had gotten into the heart of Fairy Tail's strongest team so easily. She made them smile and laugh, plus she always cared for them. Erza had been wrong to force Lucy into talking about her past before she was ready. Without knowing it, Erza had hurt a friend she didn't know she had made at that time. In fact, Erza was grateful towards Lucy. Ever since Lucy had joined Fairy Tail, Natsu had become more like his old self. The real Natsu had come back, not the one who hid behind a mask ever since _she_ had died.

'Lucy… We're coming for you, just hand in there,' Erza thought, determination shining in her eyes. Erza ran faster, knowing that Natsu was following Lucy's scent. She wasn't sure way she was positive that was what he was doing, she just knew it was.

_Elsewhere…_

Lucy's eyes slowly pried themselves open, golden sunlight shining down on her. Once her eyes were open, she realized she was face down on the floor in chains. Lucy slowly stood up, groaning in pain that came from her throbbing neck. Hearing the clanging of her Celestial Keys hitting against one another, Lucy looked down to see her keys still attached to her belt but her whip missing. That was strange, why would they take the belt and not her keys?

Lucy grabbed her keys and tried to summon Taurus, but it was a failure. She tried again and again, but the result was always the same. Why wasn't it working? When Lucy got a good look at the chains, she realized that they restricted her magic powers so it would be useless to try. That made sense, it's not like they would want her to use magic. Lucy sighed before hearing the sound of a metal gate opening. Her head shot up to see a rather ugly man.

The man was a tall and slim with long, straight, black hair reaching down to his shoulders and a thin mustache, which had a dark reddish tone. He had a long and sharp face, vaguely pointed ears, prominent eyelashes and dark-colored lips. In a way it looked like he had lipstick on, thinking that Lucy had to refrain from laughing.

His attire bore a resemblance to the fictional depictions of both a sorcerer and a jester, consisting of a flamboyant coat with a high collar, sporting a jagged mantle and jagged lower edges, as well as intricately decorated borders and inners, featuring two prominent wings similar to a bat's. Along with a matching witch-like hat bearing Phantom Lord's symbol, complete with an extremely long, bent top hanging down on his left. A plain shirt which sported a Wizard Saint's medallion around the neck, with two light ribbons falling down from it, loose striped culottes paired with long socks, and a pair of pointed shoes each bearing two furry balls, one on the front and one on the back of the foot. While donning this attire, his left hand's fingers were adorned by a pair of rings, with one of them sporting a spherical gem.

Lucy was surprised that he almost matched the fictional depictions of both a sorcerer and a jester. Of course, she only noticed this because she was an avid reader and a story writer. She wondered who this man was, but before the question was asked he answered it for her.

"My name is Jose Porla, one of the Ten Wizard Saints and Phantom Lord's guild master. I am rather sorry that Gajeel treated you so roughly Lucy Heartfilia-Sama," he said, a rather evil looking grin playing on his face.

"You have certainly done your research Jose. What do you want with me?" Lucy asked, annoyed about what was going on. At the same time, she felt horrible for causing this problem to Fairy Tail.

"Why of course, we are going to return you to your father like it says in the request from him," Jose said. Lucy's eyes widened as she took in the information.

"You're lying," Lucy said, her voice wavering.

"Why would I be lying? It's natural for a father to miss his daughter, no?" Jose replied.

"It's not natural for my father!" she yelled back. Jose then looked around the jail cell and tsked.

"I was planning to give you a rather good deal. Lucy Heartfilia-Sama, I'm sure you hate it in this dingy old cell full of bugs. If you comply to be quite and listen to me, then you'll be moved to the quest quarters and treated like royalty. What do you have to lose?" Jose said. Lucy bit her lip while staring holes into the ground.

"I'll comply on one condition…" Lucy said.

"Oh? What would that condition be?"

Lucy looked up with fiery determination glowing in her innocent brown eyes, "Leave Fairy Tail alone!"

"It's a deal. Now come on Lucy Heartfilia-Sama, it's time to move you out of here," Jose replied, a look of triumph on his face. He went to the chains and started to unlock them.

'I have nothing to gain… but I do have everything to lose… This is good-bye to my freedom and family. I'm sorry that I couldn't be stronger, I let Fairy Tail down,' Lucy thought, a single tear rolling down her cheek and hitting the cold stone floor.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Rescue Mission

Natsu continued to run, stopping once in a while to make sure that he was on the right track. Running into the woods, they continued to follow him. Moving around tall trees covered in bright green leaves and walking through think bushes. The sky was out of sight and the sunlight only broke through the trees once in a while. Soon enough, he stopped and cursed. Looking around in desperation, Erza, Gray, and Happy started to slowly worry. Soon enough, Erza could no longer stand staying in that one spot.

"Natsu, why aren't we moving?" she asked, rather annoyed.

"The scent… it ends here…" he replied, still trying to catch onto a scent. Anything would do, Lucy's scent or just the nasty scent he had gotten a whiff of when Phantom Lord first raided Fairy Tail. He still couldn't catch onto anything and cursed louder than before.

"Damn it, Flame Brain! Now what the hell are we supposed to do?" Gray yelled in anger. He was worried for Lucy. Sure they hadn't talked that much or been that close, but she had cared for him from the beginning. Lucy had trusted them to the point that she had never asked any personal questions.

What had he repaid her with? He had instantly questioned her the second she wouldn't give them information on herself. He had forced her to give away information that she wasn't ready to give and let her get kidnapped.

"I'm trying, Popsicle! Just shut up for a minute!" Natsu yelled, glaring at Gray.

"Hey guys! There's some really tall tower up ahead!" Happy called out. The group of three looked up to see Happy flying overhead. He must have flown over the tree line while they were fighting amongst themselves.

"Good job Happy, I owe you a fish. Lead the way," Erza said seriously. It was obvious that she wasn't fooling around. This made Gray and Natsu stop before an actual fight broke out. They didn't want to face her wrath.

"Aye! Right away Erza!" Happy said, flying forward. Fairy Tail's strongest team followed, never falling far behind the exceed.

Meanwhile…

Lucy looked around her new room quietly. It was better than the cell that she had been held in earlier. Walking into the room, it was bigger than she had expected. She closed the white wooden door behind her, removing her hand from the cold silver handle.

A white queen sized bed with a white comforter and a light blue blanket rested in one corner of the room. Four white pillows were at the head of the bed. There were also several throw pillows in different sizes and multiple shades of blue. Some extra blankets rest at the foot of the bed, all the same shade of blue.

Looking towards the left wall, she saw a white wooden desk with a matching chair. The top of the desk was covered in glass, probably so that no damage could happen to the wood beneath. A white bookshelf was next to the desk. The bookshelf was filled with not just books on many different topics, but it also had tons of paper and even some writing utensils. Lovely, maybe she'd find something to write about in this boring place.

On the wall in front of her was a dresser. Walking up to it, she could see the beautiful design of swirls engraved into the white wood. For some plain colored furniture, there was definitely a bunch of design into them. She opened the drawers to find clothing inside. In fact, these clothes were from her house! They must have gone back and gotten it for her. That was strange but nice. Maybe some of her other things were lying around.

As Lucy looked down to her feet, she realized that the wood was the color of sand. Now that she thought about it, the walls of the room did seem to have vibrant fish in many different shapes, sizes, colors, and species. The room seemed to have been made to resemble an underwater land. She looked up to the ceiling, only to see that it was also painted. It looked as if beams of light were coming down. It was beautiful.

Lucy walked into the bathroom in silence. The bathroom was much plainer than the room. White tiled floors and granite countertops along with walls painted a lovely light blue. The bath tub was bigger than the one she had back in Magnolia. The sink was a normal size and Jose had been nice enough to make sure that her bath products and other bathroom items had been brought.

She sighed and walked to her bed. Falling onto it, she buried her face into her pillow. She didn't want to be here. Lucy wanted to be back with Natsu, Erza, Gray, Happy and everyone else at Fairy Tail. For some reason she just had a feeling that they were all waiting for her. That was impossible though, they had barely known her for long and she had already caused so many problems!

"I'm sorry Fairy Tail… Please forgive me one day…" she whispered into her pillow. The door to her room slammed open and Lucy jumped in shock. Looking to the doorway, she saw a woman standing there. She walked into the room and looked at Lucy with a cold gaze.

This young woman had blue hair ending at her shoulders in tight curls, dark blue eyes, pale skin and a curvaceous figure. She wore a navy blue dress that ended just past her knees. This dress had a plain thin brown belt at her waist. She wore black stockings under her dress and black high heels. Along with this was a blue shawl edged with fur that had a teru teru bōzu attached to it, as well as a blue Russian Cossack hat.

"Juvia was instructed to bring Lucy to Jose. Please come along with Juvia quietly," the woman before her, who Lucy guessed was Juvia, said.

"Okay," she said, standing up. Her keys were still with her but she still had no idea where her whip could be. Juvia then held out something in her hand. Taking it, Lucy realized it was her whip.

"Jose said that Lucy will need this," Juvia said. She then walked out of the room. Quickly following behind, Lucy did her best to keep up with Juvia's rather fast pace.

"Do you know why Jose needs me?" Lucy asked out of curiosity.

"Yes but Juvia is not allowed to tell you. Juvia is very sorry," she said.

"Ah, it's okay. It's not your fault. Juvia has to obey orders, right?" Lucy said with a smile. Soon the two arrived in an empty room. The only thing noticeable besides the white tiled floor and white walls were the chains at the front of the room. Jose stood there waiting for them.

"Lucy, some of your 'friends' from Fairy Tail have been seen coming this way. Just to make sure you won't help them, I'm having you chained up again. It's not that I don't trust you… Okay, I just don't trust you. Who can blame me? Juvia, hold her in place," Jose said, a smirk appearing on his face.

Juvia then lifted her hand up and created a ball made entirely of water. It surrounded Lucy's body and she found it hard to breath. There was definitely air, but she could feel herself sinking. Slowly, Lucy fell unconscious. The last thing she remembered was feeling cold metal clamp onto her wrist and ankles.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Fighting For Freedom

Team Natsu soon arrived at a huge stone tower away from the forest. Parts of the stone building were strewn about. It seemed as if there had been people here recently, but it was hard to tell if they were still here. Then, Natsu came upon a smell that he could recognize among the others.

"Lucy is here," he said. Walking forward, he headed towards the door to the tower. Erza and Gray looked to each other before following Natsu. Happy walked behind them silently. Right now there was no time to think of a plain. Both Erza and Gray knew this. For Natsu, well, when does he ever have a plan?

Natsu broke down the door. The first thing he set eyes on was Lucy. She looked beaten up a bit, but not terrible. She was chained up to the white wall and lying on the cold tile floor. Before the group of three plus an exceed were three people before them. On the left was a Juvia, who silently stared at them. In the middle was Jose, the master of Phantom Lord as everyone knew. The man on the right had long black hair and was the first to speak.

"So the puny fairies have come back for their princess? Too bad that you'll all be annihilated before you can get close. My name is Gajeel, remember the name because you'll be looking at this face before you're defeated," the black haired man, not identified as Gajeel, said with a grin.

"Gajeel, don't be too harsh. We promised the little lady that we'd keep Fairy Tail in one piece," Jose said.

"Juvia is surprised, we are actually keeping that promise?" she questioned.

"Of course not Juvia, destroy them all," Jose said. The fight between fairies and phantoms then broke out. It would definitely be a fight that no one would forget.

Erza charged forward with her sword out, letting out a loud battle cry. Jose smirked and lifted his hand up. Staying in from of Lucy, he sent out several powerful shades to attack Erza. On closer examination, Jose's outfit was different from before.

This time his attire consisted of a long, blue coat closed on the right side of Jose's chest by a belt circling his waist and by another one going over his right shoulder, sporting Phantom Lord's symbol on its buckle. The coat had wide golden stripes going down from the high collar, which sported a pair of large rings hanging from it on the front, to the cuffs, with other golden parts in correspondence to the closure and below the waist, on each side. His Wizard Saint's medallion was still visible on the same spot, but had dark ribbons hanging from it instead of the lighter ones from earlier. Covering Jose's left arm was a brownish red cape, sporting a wide golden-coloured stripe near the edges and some small shield-shaped ornaments placed at the same distance from one another. The outfit was completed by loose pants tucked inside boots. While donning this attire, Jose didn't sport a hat and his hair was tied in a high ponytail. In addition, his left hand still sported two rings, with the one decorated by a gem seemingly being the same, but with the other being adorned by large black lines.

Meanwhile with Gray, he was fighting Juvia. At first, Juvia had looked at him and instantly started to walk away. She had said something about him taking her heart, he wasn't too sure. But then when he said he would save Lucy no matter what, she got pissed. Now Juvia was fighting him like a crazy woman.

As Juvia dished out some water attacks, Gray continuously froze them. Seeing an opening, Gray launched some of his ice spears at Juvia. They went through her body. His eyes widened in shock while Juvia looked down at her feet.

"Your attacks will not harm Juvia because she is made of water. You might as well give up," she said. Looking up, she raised her hands and preformed water lock. A move that no one has ever been able to break free of.

"This is the end of the line. Juvia loved you so much. Too bad it must end like this," she said.

While this was going on, Natsu was fighting against Gajeel. For the first few minutes, they had stood there sending insults at one another like five year olds. After a certain comment that Gajeel had sent off, Natsu became rather annoyed. The first thing Natsu had done was go to attack Gajeel with one of his common attacks, Fire Dragon's Roar. Seeing this attack, Gajeel smirked and sent an attack of his own – Iron Dragon's Roar.

"You're a dragon slayer too?" Natsu said in shock.

"What's it to you?" Gajeel said. Launching himself forward, he turned his left hand into a long sharp piece of metal. It then started to move slowly until it caught speed and became impossibly fast. Swinging his arm down, Natsu barely dodged in time. Gajeel's attack ripped up the floor, revealing some of the dirt below. While Gajeel was removing his arm from the firm crack in the floor, Natsu saw a chance for an attack.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu yelled. Running forward, he smashed his fist into Gajeel's stomach. Gajeel flew forward and slammed into the wall, making the wall crumble as he fell down.

While everyone was occupied, Happy snuck past Jose and lightly pawed at Lucy's nose. Doing his best to wake Lucy up without being noticed, he stayed silent. Jose was close so if Happy made any noise he would definitely be caught. After several attempts at waking Lucy up, Happy sighed and pushed against Lucy.

"C'mon Luce, wake up," Happy muttered. A light moan came from Lucy and her eyes fluttered open.

"Ha…ppy?" she muttered, looking at the feline with clouded eyes. Lucy looked around to see Gray, Erza, and Natsu. They were all fighting against Phantom Lord. This wasn't supposed to be happening! Jose had said that Phantom Lord would leave Fairy Tail alone if she went with him peacefully!

"Happy," Lucy said, looking at the keys on Jose's belt.

"Yes Lucy?" Happy asked, looking at her curiously.

"Think you can get those keys for me?" she asked.

"Aye!"


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: A Light in the Dark

Lucy watched carefully as Happy grabbed the keys around Jose's belt. Bringing them to her, she hid them under her leg. Looking at Happy, she winked, "When the time is right, take the keys and let me loose."

She then turned back to the fight, watching carefully. She didn't want to see her friends fighting, but she had no choice. Lucy couldn't just cry out for them to stop. Staying quiet, she hoped that her friends would be safe.

Meanwhile, Gajeel stood up and glared at Natsu. Running forward, he turned his fist into iron and punched Natsu's face. Natsu skidded back a few feet, but stayed standing. Wiping his face, Natsu smirked.

"I'm all fired up!" he yelled out, setting fire to his hands. Running as fast as he could, Natsu's fist of fire met Gajeel's fist of iron and caused a huge shock. They were both flung back by the force. Catching himself first, Natsu set his elbow aflame and slammed it into Gajeel's stomach. Gajeel then grabbed Natsu's head with his hand. Turning his arm and hand into a long iron pole, Natsu was sent back.

While this was going on, Erza was finishing off the enemies Jose had sent. When they were done, Erza flew at Jose with incredible speed. Slamming her sword down, it buried itself into the floor. Jose had dodged her attack. That was no surprise since he was a wizard saint, but she was not planning to lose to this man. Ripping her sword out of the floor, she once again charged at Jose.

Before she could reach him, a wave of water slammed into her side and set her balance off. Turning to Juvia, she saw Gray still stuck in her water lock. Seeing the ball of water, Erza smirked.

"Hurry up already Gray! I don't have time to deal with her," she yelled.

Juvia blinked and stared at Erza, "No one can break out of Juvia's water lock. You'll soon realize this yourself."

Just as Juvia was about to use water lock on Erza, Gray attacked her. A bit shocked, Juvia turned around to face him. What kind of trick was this? This was impossible. Sending a wave of water at Gray, she watched in shock as he froze it.

"I won't be defeated by you," he said, positioning himself to send his ice lances at her. Sending them at her once again, he watched as they went through her. He cursed and got ready to freeze Juvia. She had said she was made of water, right?

Juvia then started to boil. Running at him, he dodged just in time. She then turned into a wave of water and slammed into Gray, scalding him with the boiling water she had become. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on freezing the water. Jumping out of the water, he froze it as he exited. Happy with his work, he stayed there in case she was to break out.

Lucy looked at Happy and nodded. Lifting up her leg, Lucy made sure happy had grabbed the keys before putting her leg back down. After Happy unlocked her right hand, she took the keys and unlocked the rest herself. Standing up, she looked at Happy and winked, "Happy, go help Natsu out a bit. Max speed."

Nodding, Happy smiled before flying off to be at Natsu's side. Seeing her Celestial keys and whip on Jose's belt, she glared. Lucy wanted them back. Seeing that he was distracted by Erza, she took a huge risk. Sneaking over to Jose's side, she was able to unwrap her whip from Jose's belt. Just as she was about to grab her keys, he turned to her.

"So, the daughter of the Heartfilia estate has decided not to listen? Too bad," he said, smacking her rather hard. Touching her hand to her cheek, she looked back and glared at Jose. Taking her whip, she wrapped it around his leg before pulling. He fell to the floor, his leg pulled out from under him. Erza then slammed the hilt of her sword into his head. The power behind the hit had rendered him unconscious.

"Welcome back, Lucy," Erza said with a smile, pulling the said girl into a hug. Lucy's head hit Erza's armor a bit hard, but she still smiled.

"It's nice to be back. Now, let's kick some Phantom ass!" she cheered.

Erza smiled as Lucy happily took her keys back from Jose. Even after Lucy had been interrogated, she could still smile at them. It was quite the miracle. Lucy could easily forgive people, something that not many people could still do. Lucy was truly a light in the darkness when it came to everything.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Dungeons and Dragons

Standing with Erza, Lucy felt safe as she could in their current situation. Gray soon walked over as well. The two were ready to help Natsu, but Lucy held her hand out to stop them. Looking at Erza and Gray, she smiled sadly, "This is a fight between dragon slayers and we have no right to interfere even though we wish too."

Erza and Gray, although very anxious to help, nodded and stayed near Lucy. Letting her hand fall back down to her side, Lucy watched with them as the two dragon slayers fought. How she wished her pink haired savior would be safe. Staying strong, she held back tears and watched the fight continue.

Natsu was covered with blooming purple bruises that covered his arms like huge polka dots. A huge puncture would from something sharp was in his left bicep. A small bit of blood trailed from his hairline to his chin. Scratches covered his face, standing out against his skin like black on white. His legs were cut up severely from something sharp. All of the wounds on his legs were bleeding, although some were deeper than others. Even though Natsu was so beaten up, his scarf was still in perfect condition. He glanced over at Lucy and the serious look on his face was instantly replaced with his signature goofy grin.

Gajeel didn't look too good himself. He had burn marks along his arms, chest, and a few on his face. He had a few bruises on his face as well. His hair even seemed to be burnt from one of Natsu's attacks. Blood trailed from his left shoulder down to his hand before dropping onto the floor. The metal dragon slayer seemed to be having trouble standing up. Lucy assumed he had injured his legs or feet while fighting.

Natsu's gaze then returned to the man before him. Gajeel and Natsu stood across from each other, their eyes locked together. It was obvious that they were both ready for this fight to end. They both charged at their fastest speed. Their fists connected to the other's face. Everyone was silent, waiting to see who would fall. Then, with a satisfying fall, Gajeel lost the battle and ended up on the metal floor. Natsu smiled at Lucy and walked over to the group, "Welcome back, Luce. Don't make stupid deals anymore."

Lucy laughed and nodded, "I'll agree only if you stop doing stupid things."

"That's impossible for Flame Brain," Gray commented, a smirk on his face.

"Shut up Ice Princess, you don't know shit," Natsu yelled, glaring at Gray.

Erza then loomed over the two boys, "Are you two fighting?"

"N-No, Erza!" the two squeaked, arms over each other's shoulder. Lucy laughed as Happy landed on her shoulder. It was great being back with them again. Happy smiled and jumped off of Lucy's shoulder.

"Let's go home," Erza said with a smile.

"Aye!" Happy cheered, being the first to leave the place. Lucy followed Happy with Erza, Gray, and Natsu close behind. Lucy couldn't help but sigh. It took them nearly an hour to get out since this place was as confusing as a dungeon. As Lucy stepped into the light, she looked at the ruins around her and stood in place. Feeling a jolt go through her body, Lucy saw black before she even realized her eyes had closed. Lucy then collapsed to the ground, shocking everyone.

Natsu was the first to be at her side, freaking out and trying to shake Lucy awake. Gray smacked Natsu upside the head, yelling at him for doing such a stupid thing. Erza got to her knees and checked for a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief as she stood up with Lucy in her arms.

"She's still alive. We must bring her to Fairy Tail immediately. Come on," she yelled. The boys nodded and quickly ran to catch with Erza, who had already left them behind long ago.

- Inside Lucy's Mind –

Lucy stood in complete darkness, unable to move even a muscle. She felt suffocated, almost as if someone was holding a pillow over her face and waiting for her to die. Then she felt herself falling. Deeper and deeper into the darkness she went, unable to let out a cry for help. Tears slid down her face before flying into the air due to the speed she was falling at. Would this be the end for her?

A loud roar was heard along with the sound of wings. She landed on something roughly – it had hurt but at least she was alive. Lucy looked down and ran her hands down the red scales. What had she landed on exactly? Crawling forward, she ended up at the head of the beast. It was then that she realized what she had landed on. Lucy had landed on a huge red dragon.

She once again ran her hands down the dragon's red scales, realizing that they were rough and rather hot – almost like they were letting off heat. He had huge wings, the thin skin that was part of the dragon's wings were a light red. Lucy then did one of the stupidest things she could have down. She crawled over to the front of the dragon's head and hung off. Looking into the dragon's eyes, she could see shock go through his blue eyes before he realizing what she was doing.

"You'll fall off like that," he stated. Lucy, rather shocked, instantly slipped and fell onto the dragon's snout. The dragon laughed, causing her to laugh along. His laughter seemed contagious.

"I warned you," he laughed.

Lucy smiled, "Indeed you did. My name is Lucy Heartfilia. Who are you?"

The dragon grinned, "I am Igneel, the fire dragon."


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N: I'm sorry that this took so long! My father recently left for Iraq and it put me into shock for a good amount of time. I can officially say that I am back in business! Sorry for the huge delay! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 22: More Questions than Answers<p>

"Igneel… The fire dragon…" Lucy mumbled, her eyes widening, "How am I here with you?"

Igneel laughed, "You question how you are here but not that dragons exist? You are truly interesting, Lucy."

"Gosh, you sound like Natsu," Lucy sighed, "He's always calling me a weirdo."

"Natsu? Do you mean Natsu Dragneel?" Igneel questioned. Lucy nodded and smiled, "Yeah, that Natsu. Do you know him?"

"Of course I know my own son!" Igneel said proudly. Lucy guessed that if he was a human than his cheeks would be puffed out like a child.

"Natsu is your son? I guess that makes sense… He is a fire dragon slayer…" Lucy said.

"Hey, do you know the ruins I was just at?" Lucy asked.

"Let me check," Igneel said, "Close your eyes."

Lucy did as she was told. She suddenly felt as if someone was rummaging through her brain. The ruins showed up in her head before she heard Igneel's voice.

"That was once called 'The Palace of the Dragons'. It was a place where we were worshipped," Igneel said. Her mother's words then rang through her head before she opened her eyes.

_ "Do not forget the date of my death, Lucy. July 7th, 777. That date is the key to everything. It's the key to finding the dragons, who can stop this disaster. It's the key to gathering all the dragon slayers together. But the most important thing is that it's the key to you unlocking your true potential. Find a group of people that you can trust, Lucy. I believe in you. I know you can do it."_

"Igneel… Did you know a person by the name of Layla Heartfilia?" she questioned. Igneel was silent for a second, which worried Lucy. Had she said something out of line?

"Yes, I knew your mother. All of us dragons did," Igneel said, "How do you this though?"

"My mother…" Lucy started, "She came to me in a dream. She told me to find the dragons to stop a disaster. That I had to gather all of the dragon slayers and by doing this, not only would I save the world but my true potential would be unlocked as well…"

"I see…" Igneel said, "It is time for you to awaken now Lucy. We will meet again soon."

"Wait! How are you so sure?" Lucy cried out, "Why do I feel as if you are hiding something from me?"

Before Lucy could get a reply, Igneel has disappeared from under her. Once again, she was falling. It was slower than the last time, almost as if she was drifting to the ground like a feather. As she fell, Lucy felt tears fill her eyes once more. She was so frustrated! Whenever she was close to an answer, it was taken away from her. Lucy then felt herself drifting into the blackness and let it overcome her.

- In The Fairy Tail Infirmary -

"She isn't waking up…" one voice said.

"What happened? Why did she suddenly freeze up once we went outside?" another voice questioned.

"Who knows? She fainted a second after looking back at the place. It was rather strange. Levy, have you found any history on the place yet?" a strong feminine voice asked.

"Not yet… Oh! Here we go! It was called-" Levy was cut off.

"The Palace of the Dragons," Lucy said, sitting up. She looked rather tired and stressed. Quickly, she looked around to take in her surroundings. Gray was standing next to the door. As always, the ice make mage was missing his shirt. Erza stood next to Levy in her signature armor. She looked rather concerned for her friend's wellbeing. Levy sat in a chair next to Erza. In her lap was a very thick and worn book. The pages were yellowish from age, but the golden cursive writing was still beautiful. Natsu sat in a chair near the window. The word dragon had instantly caught him off guard.

"Yes… How did you know, Lu-Chan?" Levy asked, a bit confused.

"A… friend told me," Lucy said.

"While you were sleeping?" Erza questioned, obviously finding the story hard to believe.

"Yes… Natsu knows him," Lucy stated.

"I doubt that Flamer Brain knows anyone that you know," Gray laughed.

"Oh… So he is has no connection with I-" Lucy stopped. Maybe it was better if she said nothing. She glanced over the faces and bit her lip. Lucy truly trusted them, but she believed that one more person needed to be here before she could speak.

"I can't say anything until we have Master Makarov here…" Lucy said.

"I'll get him immediately," Erza said, leaving the room. Lucy just hoped that she had placed her trust in the right people.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: A Possible Connection

Erza soon entered the room with Master Macarov at her side. When the old man walked in, he instantly faced Lucy. He seemed serious, with somewhat scared Lucy. Macarov then smiled, making Lucy relax quite a bit.

"What do you need, my child?" Makarov asked.

"I need your ears and Fairy Tail's assistance," Lucy said, "It's about the dragons…"

Everyone in the room instantly looked at Lucy. Natsu seemed to be listening more intently than any of them. Macarov nodded at Lucy, "You have both. What is it?"

"The day the dragons disappeared… It connects with my mother," Lucy stated.

"How so?" Macarov asked.

"It is the exact day my mother passed away - July 7th, 777. I'm on a mission to save Fiore. To do so, I must have all the dragons and dragon slayers come together here – in Fairy Tail. If I do not do so, then a meteor bigger than Fiore shall crash upon us," Lucy said, "The dragons are still alive… And… A dragon known very well by Natsu also knows my mother.."

"You don't mean…" Macarov started. The people in the room looked at Lucy, waiting for an answer. Lucy looked at everyone one at a time. Gray and Erza seemed to listen intently. Lucy could tell that Levy was surprised by all the information she was hearing at once. Natsu looked betrayed and Lucy couldn't blame him.

Lucy nodded sadly and looked to Natsu, holding his gaze, "Your father, Igneel, knew my mother. I cannot tell you where I saw him, for we met as I was asleep. I'm sorry."

Natsu said nothing. Lucy instantly directed her attention to her hands, feeling horrible. She should have told Natsu sooner, but at the time she barely knew him. Holding back tears, she sighed and covered her eyes with her hands, "I'm sorry. I understand if you wish for me to leave Fairy Tail immediately. I know I sound crazy and that none of you believe me, but I thought you had a right to know… No… That's not the reason I told all of you… I told all of you because I trusted you…"

Lucy forced herself out of the hospital bed and onto her feet. No one stopped her. No one spoke. She grabbed her jacket that was on the nearby table and put it on, "I'll be leaving right away. I cannot stay her any longer."

It was then that everyone intervened.

"Are you crazy, Lu-Chan? I won't allow you to leave! You have to stay with me! You have to stay with all of us!" Levy yelled, standing up. The book in her lap fell to the floor.

"Lucy, you can't go now! We're just started to know you better! You're like a sister to me!" Erza said, pulling out her sword, "If I must, than I shall defeat you in combat so that you'll stay!"

"Hey, you can't leave yet. If I left my close friend and little sister go out on a mission this big and dangerous that what kind of brother would I be?" Gray said, obviously fooling around about her being his 'little sister'.

"My child shall not be left alone to face some dire situation! We are Fairy Tail! We are family! We fight together! We cry together! We laugh together! We fight together! We shall never abandon each other!" Master said.

Natsu stood up and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. Lucy turned to face him, only to be greeted by his signature grin.

"Where do you think you're going, Luce?" Natsu asked, "I can't let my best friend leave me behind. We'll take this on together as a family! C'mon Luce, why would I ever allow you to do this alone?"

Lucy instantly broke into tears as she hugged Natsu, "Th-Thank you… Minna… Thank you… Natsu…"

As she cried, millions of thoughts ran through her head. Her mind stopped at one thought and made it constantly run though her head.

'I think I may be falling in love with someone that I barely know… I think I'm falling for Natsu…'


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Finding Their Whereabouts

"Well Lucy," Master Macarov said with a smile, "it's a good thing that you mentioned this now because we have a new member of Fairy Tail! Be kind to him!"

It was then that Gajeel walked out from behind the entrance door. Everyone instantly took a fighting stance when they saw him. Gajeel stood there silently and sneered. Lucy looked at Gajeel, raising an eyebrow.

"Master, you let the enemy join? This man attacked Fairy Tail!" Erza yelled, clearly pissed. Lucy put a hand on Erza's shoulder to calm her down.

"Relax Erza, he was only following the orders that his previous guild master gave him. Anyway, he's the iron dragon slayer. Even if you hate him, we need him," Lucy said.

Erza cursed and still glared at Gajeel. Gray and Natsu were obviously not letting their guard down. Lucy shook her head and sighed. Walking past Levy, Lucy stopped in front of Gajeel. He looked down at the girl and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want, Bunny Girl?" he questioned.

"B-Bunny Girl," Lucy yelped, obviously embarrassed at the name, "My name is Lucy, thank you!"

Gajeel obviously didn't care much as he looked at her, "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Well, we're in the same guild now so…" Lucy then held out her hand to him and smiled, "I'll be the first one to break the ice! Everyone else obviously doesn't trust you much, but I'll forgive you for everything you've done so far!"

Gajeel looked at her hand. Instead of shaking her hand, he patted her head, "Yeah yeah, Bunny Girl. Thanks for the forgiveness."

Levy, a bit taken back at Gajeel's somewhat kind self, she walked until she stood next to Lucy. Looking at Gajeel, she spoke, "My name is Levy and I'll show you around Fairy Tail. I'm sure Master wants one of us to show you around."

The two then left after Master told Levy everywhere he wanted her to show Gajeel. After they were gone, Master then turned to Lucy and the others, "I want all of you to start finding out where the other dragon slayers are. It's better to get all of them together before going after the dragons. Speak with Mira to see if she can help you find out if there are any other dragon slayers in some guilds."

Natsu nodded and smiled his signature grin. Grabbing Lucy's arm before she could object, Natsu ran out of the room with Erza and Gray following close behind. Once at the bar, Lucy sat down and smiled as Mira walked over.

"Lucy, I'm so happy to see if you're okay!" Mira said with a smile.

"Hey Mira, we need your help to find out if there are any dragon slayers in the other guilds," Erza said.

"I'm on it, Erza! Why don't you guys go out on a mission while I check in on the guilds to get the information for you. Maybe you'll run into a dragon slayer if you're lucky," Mira said.

"I don't think that's a good idea after what happened to Lucy," Gray said.

Lucy smiled and shook her head, "I'll be fine! Why don't we go look at some missions?"

"Aye!" Happy said, popping out of nowhere and landing on Lucy's head, "I wanna go on a mission with Lushi~!"

"It's Lucy, you silly cat!" Lucy laughed, standing up, "C'mon Happy, we'll find a mission for the others."

"Aye!" Happy said, flying over to the mission board as Lucy followed him. As Gray and Natsu went to follow them, Erza grabbed them and held them in place.

"I need to speak with you two," she said seriously. They both gulped and glanced at each other before looking at Erza.

"We haven't been fighting! I swear!" Natsu said.

"That's not what I meant," Erza said, "We need to keep an eye on Lucy. She might only be saying that she is okay so that we don't worry."

"That was my plan from the beginning," Gray said, "Now let's go before Lucy starts questioning why we aren't there."

Nodding in agreement, Erza released them before heading over to the mission board to meet up with Lucy. The boys followed and the group of four plus one awesome flying cat laughed and talked amongst themselves as they looked through missions.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Simple as Pie

**Destroy The Monsters Inhabiting The Ruins**

_** To whoever this may concern,**_

_**Recently, the sacred ruins in the woods near our town had been inhabited by several monsters. We are unsure of why they are living here, but they must be removed immediately. Soon will the celebration of Florenze's 50**__**th**__** anniversary and a ceremony is always held in the ruins. It is part of our tradition and must be upheld or else the town will be cursed. Please assist us.**_

_**From,**_

_**Tulochen, Mayor of Florenze**_

_**Reward: 100,000,000 Jewels**_

"Let's take this mission, Luce," Natsu said happily, "It's a bunch of money and it'll be easy as pie!"

Lucy laughed awkwardly as she read over the mission, "Somehow, I think our definitions of easy are different, Natsu…"

The mission was then taken out of Lucy's hands by Erza. Reading it over, she smiled in approval and handed it over to Gray. Raising an eyebrow and the request, he shrugged, "I guess it's easy enough. I'll give it to Mira."

Gray left for the bar while Lucy froze in shock. Easy? Did they all think this was an easy mission? Lucy would be slaughtered before she could summon one of her spirit friends to help her. Suddenly, an image of her being flattened like a pancake flashed in Lucy's mind and she shuddered.

"Okay, we'll go first thing in the morning," Erza stated, "Make sure to be at the train station by seven. Do not oversleep. If we miss the train, I'll punish the person who made us miss it."

Lucy nodded and smiled, "I'll be going home. See you guys tomorrow!"

She then left, disappearing behind the big doors of Fairy Tail as they closed. Soon enough, she was home. Slamming the door shut, she trudged into her bathroom and stripped before starting the water. Taking a warm bath, she yawned and closed her eyes for a second, enjoying the peace and quiet. After a while, she drained the tub and left the bathroom in a towel. Greeted by the sight of Natsu and Happy, Lucy yelped in surprise before slamming their faces into the wall with a powerful kick.

"Perverts!" she yelled, glaring at them.

"Natsu… Lucy is mean," Happy whined

Sitting up, Natsu smiled and laughed, "Hey Luce, what's up?"

"What's up…? What's up!? Why don't you tell me why you're in my house? How did you even get in here!?" Lucy yelled, obviously not happy.

"I got in through the window. You should really lock the window, just saying. Anyway, I came to make sure you got home safely," Natsu said, rubbing his cheek in pain, "Man, you kick hard…"

Hearing that Natsu had been worried for her, Lucy smiled slightly, "I'm fine. Anyway, you need to go home and get ready for tomorrow."

Nodding, Natsu headed to the window and smiled, "See ya tomorrow, Luce!"

With that, Natsu and Happy left. Sighing in relief, Lucy changed into her long sleeved pink button up pajama shirt and matching pink pants. Hopping into bed, Lucy buried herself under the covers and soon fell asleep.

- The Next Day -

Lucy yawned and wriggled around in the blankets. For some reason, it was unbearably warm. Hearing a snore, Lucy's eyes snapped open in shock. Slowly sitting up, she looked to her side to see pink hair. Standing up, she pulled the covers away, causing the pink haired fire dragon to fall out of her bed with a loud thud.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled, obviously annoyed.

Yawning, Natsu opened his eyes and looked up to see Lucy. With a tired smile, he waved, "Yo, Luce."

"Natsu… Why the hell are you in my bed!?" Lucy yelled.

"Your bed is comfty, so Happy and I slept in it with you. Duh," Natsu said, as if it was a normal thing to do.

Infuriated, Lucy glared at Natsu, looking rather similar to Erza. Gulping, Natsu stood up and laughed awkwardly, "Calm down, Luce… We can solve this easily, right?"

Without warning, Lucy launched herself at Natsu in rage. Dodging Lucy, Natsu quickly ran away from her and into her living room. Lucy followed him, an aura of pure anger radiating off her. After a few hours of this, Lucy had finally landed a punch on Natsu. Checking the time, Lucy cursed.

"We're gunna be late! Erza will kill us!" Lucy yelped. Throwing a bunch of stuff into her bag, Lucy grabbed her celestial keys and ran for the door.

"Hurry up, Natsu!" Lucy said, running out the door. Without warning, Natsu ran out behind her. Slamming the door shut, he grabbed Lucy's wrist and made a run for it. Lucy just prayed that they would make it on time, not even caring that she had left her house in her pajamas.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Red**

When Lucy and Natsu had arrived barely made it to the station on time, Erza had lectured them on the importance of punctuality for quite a while. Gray had been laughing the whole time, causing Natsu to glare at him when Erza wasn't looking. When the train had arrived, Lucy had gotten on and made sure to sit next to Gray. After seeing Natsu's motion sickness, there was no way he would sit next to him. Since it was a rather long ride, Lucy closed her eyes and soon dozed off.

_Red. That was the only color she could see. Everything was dyed in red. The floor. Her friends. Herself. She couldn't remember anything. When had she gotten here? Where was she? What had happened? Shocked, she looked around the room silently. _

_ Erza was pinned to the ground, one of her own swords sticking out of her stomach. Her red hair blended in with the scarlet blood and her eyes were wide as if she had seen death itself kill her. Looking down at her, Lucy could see that Erza's skin was a sickly pale. Bending down, Lucy shut Erza's eyes. She was saddened to see her seemingly invincible friend in such a state._

_ Walking to the next body, she saw Gray. His left arm was ripped from his body and thrown to the side as if it was trash. Holes covered his body in every size. It was then that she noticed the killing blow. A hole the size of a cannon ball was where his heart should be, allowing her to see the floor through his chest. It made her feel queasy, as if her stomach was tying itself into knots._

_ She left in a hurry, not wanting to lose her stomach contents. It was then that her eyes gazed at what was once a human. Not just anyone, it had been Natsu. Limbs were strewn everywhere, scattered across the bloodied floor. He had obviously been torn apart limb from limb while he was still alive. His head rest upon the scattered limbs, almost seeming as if he was looking at her. His eyes were dead, but his face was contorted into a look of pain that she had never seen before._

_ Looking away, she felt everything come up. As she lost whatever she had eaten earlier, the putrid smell mixed with the scent of blood. Lucy could feel her throat burning as she finally coughed up the rest. The disgusting taste still in her mouth, she wished she had water. Everything flashed into her head, the images of her dead friends and the beast that had done this. She'd kill it, even if it caused her to die after._

Lucy jolted awake, nearly falling out of her seat in the process. She was caught by a hand and looked up to see Gray. He looked rather concerned as he helped her back into her seat. Looking at her, he spoke, "Are you alright, Lucy? You seem as if you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine, Gray. Just a bit of a nightmare. Are were almost there?" Lucy asked, playing off her trouble with ease.

Gray smiled and nodded, "We just got here. Let's go, Erza and Natsu are waiting for us on the platform. If we keep Erza waiting, she might kill us."

Lucy laughed and stood up, "Alright then, let's hurry! I don't need Erza's wrath twice in one day!"

Soon enough, the two were off of the train. The first thing Lucy noticed was that all the decorations covering the town were red. It made everything unsettling to her after the dream she had just had. Biting her lip unconsciously, she walked over to Erza and Natsu. Quickly, Natsu was already dragging her to the Mayor's office.

When they got there, Natsu busted down the door and charged in. Lucy stood there is shock, trying to figure out what had happened. Entering the house, Gray and Erza soon came after them. The mayor was nowhere to be found, but there was a note.

_**Please go on the mission without me. I have business to attend to for the ceremony in two days.**_

_**Tulochen, Mayor of Florenze**_

"Alright then," Erza said, looking towards her team, "we were told to go start the mission. Let's go!"


	28. Chapter 27

**Hey guys. I'm sorry it's been a while. Some really serious things came up that made me unable to post, but now things are back in order I'll be back with regular updates from here on out on all of my stories. I wanted an honest opinion though. Do you think this story needs some if it's earlier chapters updated? Please let me know. If enough people say yes, I'll update some of the older chapters that may have been a bit confusing.**

Chapter 27 : Enter the Ruins

"So, I guess we should head to the ruins first," Erza said, placing the note back down on the table. With a smile, Lucy spoke, "It may be better to get some information on the ruins. If we know what we might be up against, we'll have a better chance at finishing this faster."

"Usually I would agree with you, but do we really want to upset these people the day before their festival?" Gray questioned, "It might make them a bit angry or we may even get kicked out of town."

"Good point, but I still don't think it's good to run in head first," Erza sighed.

"We'll be fine, Luce! We have to go now! After all, the festival is tomorrow. If we do this today, we can stay and eat a bunch of food at the festival!" Natsu cheer. Happy grinned, drooling a bit, "Think of all the fish!"

Lucy snickered, "Is your head full of nothing but food?"

"No! I think of other things too. Don't you think the festival would be fun though, Lucy? Just think about it! There would be a ton of different foods to eat and probably a bunch of booths with games to play! There are probably a ton of prizes too!" Natsu said, pouting a bit. Lucy rolled her eyes and nudged Natsu, "I never said it wouldn't be fun. We just have a mission we have to think about before having fun."

"Great! Let's go to the ruins then and get this over with!" Natsu said happily before once again grabbing Lucy's wrist and dragging her Natsu ran towards the ruins – with Lucy trying to keep up – Erza, Gray, and Happy chased after to duo. Before long, the five of them were at the ruins.

The ruins were made of marble buildings that had been weathered with age. The once white marble was now a rather pasty gray. Along with that, vegetation of all kinds grew throughout the ruins. Vines and moss covered many of the buildings that seemed to be its own civilization sometime in the past. It was any historian's dream and the place was truly a beautiful sight. It took Lucy's breath away to see such beauty.

Besides that, there were tons of different animals which obviously lived in the ruins. There were some animals that Lucy had never even seen before. A rainbow of colorful birds lived in the trees all around the ruins. It almost seemed as if the ruins was some type of untouched utopia just waiting for someone to join it's mini world.

As Lucy tried to catch her breath, Natsu was more than ready to go. Before he ran off again, Lucy ripped her wrist away from him. Confused, Natsu looked at Lucy, "What's wrong, Luce?"

"You run too fast! Can we at least think of a tiny bit of a plan before you drag me off again? I'd at least like to catch my breath!" Lucy sighed.

"Alright. Sorry," Natsu sighed. Meanwhile, Erza and Gray were speaking amongst themselves to try and figure out a plan that may work out. After a bit of conversing amongst the whole group, Erza smiled, "Okay. So everyone understands, right?"

"It's simple," Gray said, "We all stick together. If we get split up, don't try to find the beast. Instead, try to find us. If you see the beast and you're alone, run or call out for us. It won't do anyone any good to try and beat it yourself."

"Okay. That seems like a solid plan. Let's go on in then," Lucy said. Together, the five of them entered the ruins, unaware of what was to come.

_Meanwhile…_

"Are they going in?" someone whispered, sitting next to another silhouette. The second person nodded, moving a pair of binoculars from their face, "Yeah, they just entered the ruins. I feel kind of bad. They have absolutely no idea that they aren't coming back."

"It's for the better of the town though. You know that if we didn't do this than that horrifying beast would come into town and devour everyone," figure one said.

"I know that!" the other one hissed, "That still doesn't make it right to sacrifice people to that beast every year though. One day it's going to come back and haunt us, I know it."

"Who knows, maybe for once these people may defeat that monster. It'd certainly do everyone some good. We'd never have to sacrifice anyone again," the first one said.

The second man sighed, shaking his head, "If only…."


	29. Chapter 28

**Sorry for my long disappearance, but school became a very big issue for m for a while. However, now that summer has arrived, I promise to update more often. All of my stories WILL be completed, so please do not worry about there not being a conclusive end.**

Chapter 28 : Strength in Numbers

Finding the ruins to be overflowing with wildlife, Lucy couldn't help but find the place oddly beautiful. It was as if nature was taking back what was rightfully theirs. If there weren't monsters on the loose in the ruins, the blonde would have loved to sit down with a book in hand and read. Maybe she would have even worked on her own book, especially since this place had her creative juices flowing. She could just picture it now, the romantic scene in the middle of her story where Knight Ravine and Lady Evangeline would kiss. When she got home, Lucy would have to write it down before she went to sleep or else she would surely forget it.

"Alright then, it seems the only way we can go is right," Erza stated, leading the group in that direction. Her voice had snapped Lucy out of her daydreaming quite quickly, but the blonde didn't mind. She couldn't allow her mind to wander while there was a mission to complete. With a grin on his face, Natsu asked, "Just how many monsters do you think we'll get to defeat? Just the thought of it has me all fired up!"

"Cool it, flame brain. If you set the ruins on fire before we actually find a beast, we'll be all cooked for the damned things to eat," Gray snapped, looking around a bit as he unconsciously stripped off his shirt. The comment instantly got on Natsu's nerves, causing the dragon slayer to yell back, "If you keep stripping like you are, the beasts won't have to worry about your nasty clothing ruining their meal!"

Before the fighting could get any worse, Erza sent the two a harsh glare. With her voice laced with annoyance, she hissed out, "If you two keep yelling like buffoons, we will be unable to have the element of surprise. If you keep this up, I am going to gag you. Understood?"

The two boys nodded, instantly regretting the fact that they had gotten on Erza's bad side. With a sigh, Lucy couldn't believe that she had already gotten used to their behavior. As the blonde continued to walk, the woman paused before turning her head to the left. Glancing down a rather dark passageway, the woman whispered, "Natsu, do you hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounds like voices. There's some weird scent coming from that way too," Natsu mumbled, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. After a moment, he grumbled, "Man, what if someone beat us to the beast!? Guys, let's hurry before we lose the mission to someone else!"

Before anyone could stop him, Natsu was racing down the dark hall with Happy flying beside him. Muttering a curse, Erza followed after the dense dragon slayer. Gray and Lucy were close behind her, obviously worried about their teammate. Despite how Gray and Natsu acted towards each other, Lucy could tell that they cared for each other. It was like two brothers fighting over who ate the last cookie and the blonde couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Raising an eyebrow, Gray glanced over at her and asked, "What are you giggling at?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just a little thing I find silly," the blonde replied, flashing him a smile soon after. Gray shrugged, deciding that the mind of a woman was much too complex for him to understand and he rather not dig into it. Before long, the three arrived at the end of the hallway. Before them was a large circular room with a dome ceiling, the walls were engraved with extravagant designs of gods and goddesses. The room must have been a place of worship for whatever old civilization once lived here. However, the thing that caught their attention the most was the large beast within the center of the room.

The beast stood at eight feet tall and was covered in scales. Beady red eyes stared back at them before it opened its mouth in a sinister grin. Sharp yellow teeth stuck out of its mouth in all directions. When the beast opened its mouth to let out a roar, it was easy to see that the creature had several rows of teeth similar to that of a shark. The creature seemed like an odd mix between a cat, lizard, and shark. It had the body of a cat, yet the scales of a lizard and the aspects of a shark. The creature was obviously blood thirsty and ready to chow down on the mages who had found him.

Just a little further ahead, Natsu and Happy seemed to be fighting with two other people who stood before him. These two people also seemed to have cats of their own, making the celestial spirit mage wonder if they were possibly like Happy. Although Lucy was unable to hear what was being said, it was obviously that the three were fighting. At least, Natsu and the blonde male were fighting while the raven-haired man watched in silence. While she had a moment, Lucy decided to take in how the two boys looked.

One was a slim, yet muscular, toned young man of average height with spiky blonde hair. His hair was kept in strands jutting outwards in every direction, and a smaller, frontal cowlick of hair partially hung over his forehead. He had slanted, dark blue eyes with a thin diagonal scar above right eye. The blonde's left ear was adorned with an earring which was attached to a prominent metal pendant that was crystalline in shape. A white Sabertooth mark was visible on his left shoulder, a mark Lucy only knew due to their infamy in Fiore of being a strong guild although they were rather harsh on their members. While the man seemed to be yelling at Natsu, Lucy was able to see that the man had distinctively sharp canine teeth. The blonde donned a blue vest with golden outer edges and inner edges covered by a prominent trimming of gray fur that appears similar to a feather boa. Under that was a short, cream top, leaving his muscular upper abdominals exposed. His arms were covered by dark blue gloves reaching up to his mid-bicep, with their upper edges being adorned by light gray bands hanging down several centimeters. He wore loose, cream-colored pants, similar to Natsu's, which were held up by suspenders. The suspenders were attached to the pants' loops by square-shaped rings that were gold. Over those, the male had distinctive dark blue galosh-esque footwear that reaches up to his thighs and attached to the upper edge of his pants. The prominent soles of the boots were distinctive in their own right. They had rectangular protrusions pointing upwards on their front portion, reminiscent of square fangs.

The other person a slim young man of average height with rather messy black hair, which almost reached down to his shoulders. Along with that, some strands pointed upwards on top of his head and a prominent tuft obscured most of his forehead. His hair was brushed to the right side of his face and covered up his right eye. He had red eyes with slit pupils similar to that of a snake's. The male had a thin scar across the bridge of his nose. The male wore a long, black cape reaching down to his feet. The cape had golden edges, a white collar circling his neck, and a prominent, white ribbon hanging down on his chest from the collar. The cape bore a white Sabertooth symbol on it, almost in correspondence to the blonde's left shoulder. Below it, the raven-haired man seemed to wear a plain gray shirt with prominent brown cuffs and what looked like a large metal band circling each of his biceps. A distinctive pale blue cloth waistguard was easy to spot, which consisted of four long pieces of cloth reaching down below his knees. Each of these pieces was adorned by a large, dark cross with fan-shaped arms. Below the waistguard, the male wore a pair of armored boots, which had the very same motif which appeared on the waistguard.

Lucy allowed her gaze to leave the two males, instead deciding to look at the cats by their sides. Both cats had an appearance of a small, mildly anthropomorphous cats standing on their rear legs, with their two front legs acting as hands of sort. The cat beside the blonde boy had fur which seemed to be dark brown in color with most of his body being red. His face, belly, paws and the end of his long tail were pink. He had large, pointed ears, and prominent tufts of dark fur jutting outwards in correspondence to his cheekbones, where his whiskers were. The cat didn't don a complete outfit. Instead, he sported a blue, sleeveless button-up vest which was left open and had three dark round buttons on its right side. The other cat seemed to be clinging onto the raven-haired boy's leg. This cat had large, round eyes, each complete with a pair of prominent eyelashes, and rosy cheeks. The entirety of cat's body, aside from its face, was covered by a pink frog-like suit. Most of the suit covered by black spots. The suit sported a plain belly, webbed hands, and a hood which formed the frog's head. The suit was completed with two beady eyes resting on the hood. Lucy couldn't help but mentally point out that if other cats were wearing clothing, that meant Happy had been flying around naked with nothing but a bag. Lovely.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Erza shouted. Before either of the unknown boys could answer, it seemed that the beast had had enough waiting. With a roar, the creature tried to slam its tail down on the boys. The boys quickly dodged, making sure to grab their cats in the process. Happy had barely reacted fast enough to fly Natsu out of the way. Snatching her celestial keys, Lucy shouted, "Maybe we can have some proper introductions after we deal with this beast!?"

"Finally, someone with a bit of sense," the raven-haired male scoffed, although Lucy wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear that or not.


End file.
